Gustave Lanctot , also spelled Gustave Lanctôt, (5 July 1883 – 2 February 1975) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

historian and

archivist An archivist is an information professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records maintained by an archivist can consi ...

. Born in Saint-Constant,

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 thirte ...

, he studied law at

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- ...

and was called to the Quebec Bar in 1907. A

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

, he studied political science and history from 1909 to 1911 while at

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. He was also a member of the

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ice hockey team. In 1912, he joined the National Archives of Canada. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, he served in the

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. After the war, he received a PhD from the

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and later returned to the National Archives eventually becoming Dominion Archivist from 1937 to 1948. He also taught at 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 ...

. A historian, he wrote many books including ''L'Administration de la Nouvelle-France'' (1929), ''Le Canada d'hier et d'aujourd'hui'' (1934), ''Montréal au temps de la Nouvelle-France, 1642-1760'' (1942), ''Trois ans de guerre, 1939-1942'' (1943), ''L'Oeuvre de la France en Amérique du Nord'' (1951), ''Histoire du Canada'' (winner of the 1963

Governor General's Award for French language non-fiction The Governor General's Award for French-language non-fiction is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian writer for a non-fiction book written in French. It is one of fourteen Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit, sev ...

), ''Le Canada et la Révolution américaine'' (1965, and winner of the inaugural Albert B. Corey Prize in 1967) and ''Montréal sous Maisonneuve, 1947-1965'' (1966). He also was a historical advisor on eight Canadian films produced from 1961 to 1964. He was made 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 ...

in 1926, was awarded the

J. B. Tyrrell Historical Medal The J. B. Tyrrell Historical Medal is an award of the Royal Society of Canada "for outstanding work in the history of Canada." It was established in 1927, endowed by the Canadian geologist and amateur historian Joseph Burr Tyrrell. The medal is ...

, and was its

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from 1948 to 1949. On July 6, 1967, he was one of the first people to be made an Officer 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 ...

(then called a Service Medal). The citation read "Renowned historian whose "Histoire du Canada" marks the culmination of a life devoted to knowledge of Canada's past". He also was made a Knight of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

Order of Canada medal auction

In late 2006 and early 2007, Lanctot made the news concerning his Order of Canada medal which was put up for auction on

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. It was later removed since the auction is against eBay rules. However, the auction appeared to proceed via

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References

Fonds Gustave Lanctôt at Library and Archives Canada

* ttps://archive.today/20070930043852/http://gg.ca/honours/search-recherche/honours-desc.asp?lang=e&TypeID=orc&id=2101 Order of Canada citation
Order of Cda. medal auction to proceed by e-mail

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lanctot, Gustave 1883 births 1975 deaths Canadian archivists 20th-century Canadian civil servants Canadian male non-fiction writers Canadian Rhodes Scholars Canadian military personnel of World War I Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Officers of the Order of Canada Writers from Quebec Université de Montréal alumni University of Ottawa faculty University of Paris alumni Governor General's Award-winning non-fiction writers Canadian writers in French Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur People from Saint-Constant, Quebec 20th-century Canadian historians Winners of the Prix Broquette-Gonin (literature) Presidents of the Canadian Historical Association Canadian King's Counsel