Armand Frappier (November 26, 1904 – December 17, 1991) was a physician, microbiologist, and expert on

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

from

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada. Born in

Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec Salaberry-de-Valleyfield is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada, in the Regional County Municipality of Beauharnois-Salaberry. The population as of 2019 was 42,410. Situated on Grande-Île, an island in the Saint Lawrence River, it is bordere ...

, the son of Arthur-Alexis Frappier and Bernadette Codebecq, his mother died in 1923 from tuberculosis. This greatly affected him and he pursued a career devoted to fighting this ''tueuse de maman'' (mother killer). In 1924, he received a Bachelor of Arts and, in 1930, he received a medical degree from the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-de ...

. In 1933, he obtained a Bachelor of Science also from the Université de Montréal. In 1938, he founded the ''Institut de microbiologie et d'hygiène de Montréal'' - following the model of the Pasteur Institute in Paris and the Connaught Laboratories of the University of Toronto (Malissard, 1998; 1999a, 1999b, 2000)- the first French-language school of hygiene in the world, and served as its director for 38 years. It was renamed ''Institut Armand-Frappier'' in 1975. He was instrumental in the fight against tuberculosis in Canada and as one of the first researchers to confirm the safety and usefulness of the

Bacillus Calmette-Guérin Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine is a vaccine primarily used against tuberculosis (TB). It is named after its inventors Albert Calmette and Camille Guérin. In countries where tuberculosis or leprosy is common, one dose is recommended ...

vaccine A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifie ...

. In 1929, he married Thérèse Ostiguy. They had four children: Lise, Monique, Michèle, and Paul.

Honours

* He was named Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...

, upon the recommendation of the Canadian government. * In 1969, he was made a Companion of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

. * In 1985, he was made a Grand Officer of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as ''l'Ordre national du Québec'', and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is an order of merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Gove ...

. * In 1993, the

government created the

Prix Armand-Frappier The Prix Armand-Frappier is an award by the Government of Quebec, part of the Prix du Québec, "given to people who have pursued a research career and have helped build up a research institution. Or it goes to those who have devoted themselves t ...

in his honour, given every year to a scientist in recognition of his or her career. * He was a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...

* On January 17, 2000,

Canada Post Canada Post Corporation (french: Société canadienne des postes), trading as Canada Post (french: Postes Canada), is a Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the opera ...

honoured him with a stamp entitled, ''Armand Frappier: Champion Disease Fighter''. * In 2012, he was inducted into the

Canadian Medical Hall of Fame __NOTOC__ The Canadian Medical Hall of Fame is a Canadian charitable organization, founded in 1994, that honours Canadians who have contributed to the understanding of disease and improving the health of people. It has an exhibit hall in London, O ...

References

* Malissard, P. (1998), « La longue controverse de la vaccination antituberculeuse au Canada : le Bacille Calmette Guérin (bcg), 1925-1975 », Canadian Bulletin of the History of Medicine/Bulletin canadien d'histoire de la médecine, vol. 15, p. 85-126. * Malissard, P. (1999a), « Les centres universitaires de production et de recherche en microbiologie au Canada ou savoir se rendre utile», Bulletin d'histoire politique, vol. 7, no 3, p. 40-50. * Malissard, P. (1999b), Quand les universitaires se font entrepreneurs. Les Laboratoires Connaught et l'Institut de microbiologie et d'hygiène de l'Université de Montréal, 1914-1972, thèse de doctorat, Université du Québec à Montréal. * Malissard, P. (2000)
« Les "Start-Up" de jadis : la production de vaccins au Canada » Sociologie et sociétés, vol. 32, n° 1, p. 93-106.
* *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frappier, Armand Canadian microbiologists Companions of the Order of Canada Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Grand Officers of the National Order of Quebec Canadian Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Salaberry-de-Valleyfield Academics in Quebec 1904 births 1991 deaths Université de Montréal alumni 20th-century Canadian biologists