Jacques Lacoursière, (4 May 1932 – 1 June 2021) was a Canadian TV host, author and historian.

Life and career

Lacoursière was born in Shawinigan, in the Mauricie region, and then resided in Beauport in the Greater Quebec area. Lacoursière held an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree in

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

from the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottaw ...

. Renowned not only for his talents as a researcher, but also for his ability to communicate and make history accessible to a larger audience, he worked with film director

Gilles Carle Gilles Carle, (July 31, 1928As fully funny, Carle had pleasure to always give himself one year less, and to let people think wrongly that he was born in 1929, "The Year of the Big World Crash": see on the Quebec French newspapers that many writer ...

. Together they produced the TV series ''Épopée en Amérique : une histoire populaire du Québec'' which Lacoursière hosted in 1997. He died on 1 June 2021, at the age of 89.

Honors

Lacoursière was made a Member 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 cen ...

in 2006. In 2002, he was made a Knight 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 Governo ...

Published books

Over the years Lacoursière has written many books, including: * 1968: ''Histoire, 1534-1968'' (published by Boréal Express under the supervision of Denis Vaugeois and Jacques Lacoursière) * 1969: ''Les Troubles de 1837-38'' with Denis Vaugeois * 1970: ''L'Acte de Québec et la Révolution américaine'' with Denis Vaugeois * 1972: ''Notre histoire: Québec-Canada'' with Denis Vaugeois * 1972: ''Alarme citoyens!: l'affaire Cross-Laporte, du connu à l'inconnu.'' Montréal, Québec, Canada: Editions La Presse, 1972. 438 p. * 1974: ''Québec 72-73'' * 1976: ''Canada-Québec : synthèse historique'' with Denis Vaugeois * 1979: ''Il était une fois... le Québec'' under the supervision of Jacques Lacoursière * 1991: ''Les Mémoires québécoises (Jacques Mathieu, Jacques Lacoursière)'' with Jacques Mathieu * 1995 - 1997 : ''Histoire populaire du Québec'' * 1997: ''Monsieur le président : les orateurs et les présidents depuis 1792'' * 2000: ''La chanson comme miroir de poche : conversation avec Jacques Lacoursière / Gilles Vigneault'' with

Gilles Vigneault Gilles Vigneault (; born 27 October 1928) is a Canadian poet, publisher, singer-songwriter, and Quebec nationalist and sovereigntist. Two of his songs are considered by many to be Quebec's unofficial anthems: " Mon pays" and " Gens du pays", ...

* 2000: ''Canada-Québec : synthèse historique, 1534-2000'' (''Nouvelle édition'') with Jean Provencher and Denis Vaugeois * 2002: ''Une histoire du Québec / racontée par Jacques Lacoursière'' * 2005: ''L'Île-des-Sœurs : d'hier à aujourd'hui'', Les éditions de l'homme, Montréal

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lacoursiere, Jacques 1932 births 2021 deaths French Quebecers 20th-century Canadian historians Canadian male non-fiction writers Canadian writers in French Knights of the National Order of Quebec Members of the Order of Canada People from Shawinigan Academics in Quebec Historians from Quebec Writers from Quebec University of Ottawa alumni 21st-century Canadian historians