William Osborne, professor of physiology, man of letters and urbane man about town, was the first President of the Rotary Club of Melbourne. He was educated in Ireland and Germany and in 1899 he was appointed lecturer at University College, London, and then assistant professor in 1902. He was fluent in many languages and well-read in literature and science. He was also tall, handsome and athletic.
He was Professor of Physiology at the University of Melbourne 1904-38 and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine after 1929. He was on the panel of the radio quiz-programme "Information Please" from 1938 and was noted for his memory and wide variety of interests. He served as President of the Royal Society of Victoria 1916-1917.
William Osborne was the Foundation Charter President of the Rotary Club of Melbourne (1921-22). In the early years of Rotary there was no District structure making it difficult to charter new clubs. Rotary International appointed the Charter Presidents of Melbourne and Sydney as Rotary International Commissioners with the power to charter new clubs. Osborne was responsible for Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania. By 1927 he had chartered clubs in Adelaide, Hobart, Launceston, Bendigo, Geelong, Ballarat and Perth. He was a driving force in the establishment of Rotary in Australia. He died in 1967 in his 95th year having been a member of the club for 46 years.
