12 Facts About Bill Orban

William Robert Orban was a Canadian public servant and academic.

Bill Orban was a "pioneer" in the field of physical fitness, best known for creating the 5BX and XBX programmes in the late 1950s.

Bill Orban was born on 21 April 1922 in Regina, Saskatchewan.

Bill Orban played many sports at the Jesuit high school he attended.

Bill Orban attended the School of Physical Education at McGill University and graduated in 1949.

Bill Orban accepted a job offered by Wing Commander John Tett and returned to Canada in 1956, despite offers of employment from several American universities.

Bill Orban took a position at the Department of National Defence and was tasked to develop a fitness programme for Royal Canadian Air Force pilots, a third of whom were not considered fit to fly.

In 1958, the University of Saskatchewan employed Bill Orban to take the position of dean at its new Physical Education programme.

In 1966, Bill Orban returned to Ottawa to become a professor of the University of Ottawa's Human Kinetics department and became dean of that department in 1968, a position he occupied until 1976.

Bill Orban continued as a professor in Kinanthropology until his retirement in 1987.

Bill Orban hoped that it would allow training times for athletes to be cut and help people recovering from illnesses to become fitter.

Bill Orban died of prostate cancer and melanoma at age 81 in Ottawa.