Chronologie de la vie du Frère Marie-Victorin

Chronology – Life of Brother Marie-Victorin f.é.c.
(1885-1944)

1885

· April 3, birth in Kingsey-Falls, P. Quebec; son of Cyrille Kirouac and Philomène Luneau. Shortly after, this Kirouac family moves to Saint-Sauveur parish in Quebec City, where M. Kirouac operates an important grain and flour business.

1900

· End of his studies at l'Académie commerciale de Québec.

1901

· June 5^th, he enters Mont-de-la-Salle in Maisonneuve, a novitiate of the Christian Brothers located on the actual site of the Montreal Botanical Garden.

1903

· Teacher at the Collège de Saint-Jérôme. At a first symptom of tuberculosis, his doctor orders him to a rest and fresh air cure. It is then that Brother Marie-Victorin self-teaches plant identification with a book by abbey Léon Provancher, titled La Flore canadienne.

1904

· Assigned to Saint-Léon school in Westmount; a new lung haemorrhage confines him to the infirmary at Mont-de-la-Salle.

1905

· Teacher at the College de Longueuil where he meets with Brother Rolland-Germain with whom he begins his herborization field trips all over the Province.

1908

· Begins his contributions to Le Naturaliste canadien.

1909

· Harvard University Professor, M.L. Fernald, helps Brother Marie-Victorin to break away officially from amateurism.

1910

· Staging by the members of Cercle La-Salle (that he had himself founded in Longueuil) of his historical drama: Charles Le Moyne.

1912

· Brother Marie-Victorin and Brother Rolland-Germain are actively botanizing in Saint-Jerome (Qc); Professor Fernald accepts to examine samples that are difficult to identify.

1913

· Writes an "«antidarwinian»" article in the June edition of Le Naturaliste canadien.

1915

· July 18, Marie-Victorin pronounces his perpetual vows.

1916

· Publication in Quebec City of La Flore du Témiscouata; 1 vol. in 8', 125 pages. (Ed. Laflamme) Prize-winner of the literary contest of the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal for La Croix du chemin. (Road-side Cross)

1917

· Publishes Les Sciences naturelles au Canada, in La Revue canadienne (Oct.)

· Prize-winner of the literary contest of the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal for La Corvée des Hamel.

1919

· Récits laurentiens, 1 vol. in 8', illustrated by E. Z. Massicotte, foreword by Albert Ferland, 207 pages.

1920

· Brother Marie-Victorin is appointed associate professor in botany science at Université de Montréal, but continues as half-time teacher at Collège de Longueuil.

· Publication of Croquis laurentiens, 1 vol. in 8', illustrated by E.Z. Massicotte. Foreword by Ernest Bilodeau.

1921

· An article by Father Teilhard de Chardin published in Les Études de (June 1921) leads the botanist to Darwin’s theory of evolution.

1922

· Upholds a thesis on Les Filicinées du Québec for his PhD degree in science.

1923

· Elected as secretary of Association canadienne-française pour l’avancement des Sciences (ACFAS), founded on May 15 1923, and of the Canadian Society of Natural History. Winner of the Prix David for his PhD degree thesis.

· Election at the Royal Society of Canada of Canada (Literary section).

1924

· Exchanges with professor Fernald who confirms discoveries made by the Canadian botanist; visit of the Gray Herbarium in Boston, one of the largest in the world.

1925

· Presidency of the Canadian Society of National History.

1927

· Transferred from the literary to the biology section of the Royal Society of Canada, where he stood for a long time as the only French-Canadian member.

· Appointed unanimously by the Faculty of Science to the Board of Directors of the Biological Board of Canada’s Ministry of Marine affairs who controls all Canadian biological stations.

1928

· Prizewinner of the A.C.J.C. ; in French narrative section, for Croquis laurentiens and in Scientifics works section for Recherches Phytométriques sur la Bartonia virginica.

1929

· Publication of Le dynamisme dans la flore du Québec in Revue trimestrielle canadienne, in which article, « dynamism » stands for « evolutionism ».

· In March gives a series of courses at the Gray Herbarium of Harvard University.

· In Capetown, South Africa as appointed delegate by Université de Montréal to the Congress of the British Association for the Advancement of Sciences.

1930

· Under the presidency of Brother Marie-Victorin, the Canadian Society of Natural History creates the Association du Jardin botanique de Montréal.

· In Toronto to participate to the meeting of the Biological Board of Canada.

· In Cleveland to attend the annual congress of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences.

1931

· Receives the Prix David for the entirety of the contributions by the botanical laboratory of Université de Montréal.

· Following the initiative of Brother Adrien, c.s.c., Brother Marie-Victorin creates Les Cercles des Jeunes naturalistes, with the support of the Canadian Society of Natural History.

1932

· Grandoger prize from the Société botanique de France.

· Brother Marie-Victorin launches the publication by Les Cercles des jeunes naturalistes of a series of leaflets, thus giving to the younger population a popular access to scientific subjects.

· Allocation by the Executive Committee of 100,000 $ to begin construction of Le Jardin botanique de Montreal.

1933

· In Leicester, England as guest of honour of the Congress of the British Association.

· In Vancouver, as appointed delegate of the National Research Council of Canada and the Royal Society of Canada to the Fifth Pacific Rim Scientific Congress

· Presides first congress of the Association Canadienne-Française pour l’avancement des sciences (ACFAS).

· Bench-mark exposition by Les Cercles des Jeunes naturalistes at Mont-Saint-

Louis in Montreal.

· Presides over section V of the Royal Society of Canada.

1934

· In Lambecq, Belgium as delegate to the General Chapter of Institut des Frères des Écoles chrétiennes.

· In Aberdeen, Scotland, as delegate of the National Research Council and the Royal Society of Canada to the Congress of the British Association for the Advancement of Sciences.

1935

· First publication of La Flore laurentienne, 1 vol. in 4', illustrated by Brother Alexandre,f.é.c., 927 pages, 22 charts, 2800 drawings.

· Coincy Prize of the Académie des Sciences de Paris.

· Decorated by His Majesty, King of England, in commemoration of the Royal Silver Jubilee Celebration.

· At Hôtel Pennsylvanie, Marie-Victorin greets a first group of toddlers from the École de l'Éveil, founded by Mrs Marcelle Gauvreau.

· In Saint Louis, Missouri, as delegate of the ACFAS to the congress of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences.

· On May 7^th, the first furrow is ploughed on the grounds of Jardin botanique de Montreal, exactly where Conrad Kirouac had entered as a novice of Les Frères des écoles chrétiennes, thirty-five years earlier.

1936

· Gold Medal winner of the Société Provancher d'Histoire naturelle for La Flore laurentienne.

· Creation of a « Société d'études et de libre discussion des problèmes universitaires » (A Society dedicated to the study and free discussion of problems universities are confronted to).

· Freshly appointed Minister of the new Union-Nationale Political Party, Onésime Gagnon hosts Brother Marie-Victorin, the President of the Canadian Society of Natural History and announces a subsidy of $100,000 given to Le Jardin botanique de Montréal.

1937

· January 26, gives his presidency speech at the Canadian Society of Natural History, in support of the creation of a geological institute.

· Montreal’s French daily, Le Devoir, highlights a first century of Lasallian influence in Canada (1837-1937).

1938

· Membre of Office provincial des Recherches scientifiques.

· Canadian Secretary of the Botanical section of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences.

· Travels to Haiti.

· Presidency speech of the Canadian Society of National History: Confronts « Menaud, maître draveur » to nature and naturalists.

· Two sections of Le Jardin botanique de Montreal are opened to the public: the “Economy Garden” and the “Garden of Annuals”.

· Opening of the Geology Institute at Université de Montréal.

· Decorated with the Commander’s Star of the Mérite agricole by Quebec’s Minister of agriculture.

· A three-month stay in Cuba where Colegio de La Salle welcomes him with an office.

1939

· The Botanical Institute takes possession of its brand new offices at Le Jardin botanique de Montréal.

· Delegate of the federal Government to the Pacific Congress at the University of California.

· Member of the International Commission of Botanical Nomenclature created at the Cambridge Congress in August1939.

1940

· Organisation of the École de la Route (free translation: On the Road School).

1941

· The Atkins Institution, affiliate of Harvard, subsidizes the publication of his itineraries on the Island of Cuba.

1942

· Second stay in Cuba.

1943

· Brother Marie-Victorin is at the direction of Radio-Canada’s 3rd series of La Cité des Plantes.

1944

· Second series of Botanical Itineraries on the Island of Cuba (French).

· Decorated with the National Merit Order of Cuba. The Archbishop of Havana was decorated at the same occasion.

· Last botanizing expedition in Black Lake (Qc). On the return trip, Brother Marie-Victorin is slightly injured in a car accident. He dies from a heart failure on board the car that carries him to the hospital in Saint Hyacinthe.

· Funeral service at Mont Saint-Louis (Montreal); interment at Mont-de-la-Salle, cemetery in Laval-des-Rapides (Qc).

1954

· Unveiling of Marie-Victorin’s monument in Le Jardin botanique de Montréal by Quebec’s Prime Minister, Maurice Duplessis.

Brother Marie-Victorin, who had become famous for his research on systematic, phytogeography, and the ecology of Quebec’s flora, was a member of the following scientific societies: The Société botanique de France; the Society of the Sigma XI; the British Association for the Advancement of Sciences; the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences and the Linnaean Society of London.

Op. jamb – 2006.05.20