Eugène-Étienne Taché,

ISO The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ; ; ) is an independent, non-governmental, international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. Me ...

(; October 25, 1836 – March 13, 1912) was a

French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. These points are usually on the ...

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...

and

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

. He devised Quebec's provincial

coat-of-arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achiev ...

and motto ''

Je me souviens () is the official motto of Quebec, and translated literally into English means: "I remember." The exact meaning of this short sentence is subject to several interpretations, though all relate to the History of Quebec, history of the Quebec peo ...

''. As the son of

cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

(and future premier)

Étienne-Paschal Taché Sir Étienne-Paschal Taché (5 September 1795 – 30 July 1865) was a Canadian medical doctor, politician, and Father of Confederation. His family had a long history in New France, but suffered serious financial reverses due to the Seven Y ...

, Eugène-Étienne Taché's early education was quite extensive, but also took place in various locations because of movements to the government. Thus, he studied in both the Petit Séminaire de Québec and at

Upper Canada College Upper Canada College (UCC) is an independent day and boarding school for boys in Toronto, Ontario, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The college is widely described as Canada's most prestigious preparatory school, and ha ...

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. In 1856, Taché took a three-year course in surveying, and in the course of his education successively studied under Frederick Preston Rubidge, Walter Shanly, and finally Charles Baillairgé. In 1861, he began working for the Department of Crown Lands, and in 1869 he became the assistant commissioner of

Crown land Crown land, also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. Today, in Commonwealth realm ...

s for

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, a position in which he was subordinate only to the elected minister of Crown Lands. He held this post until his death. During his time as assistant commissioner, Taché also did extensive architectural work. Although he hadn't studied it formally, Taché learned a great deal from books and journals that he read. He designed the second-Empire style

Parliament Building (Quebec) The Parliament Building of Quebec (, ) is an eight-floor structure and is home to the National Assembly of Quebec (), in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The Parliament Building was designed by architect Eugène-Étienne Taché in a Second Empire styl ...

with three towers in

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

from spring 1876-1887. He designed the new courthouse, and various other buildings, including a monastery. He devised the province's

and motto, ''

'' ("I remember"). Taché died in Quebec City. In 1903, he was made a Companion of the

Imperial Service Order The Imperial Service Order was established by King Edward VII in August 1902. It was awarded on retirement to the administration and clerical staff of the Civil Service throughout the British Empire for long and meritorious service. Normally a pe ...

Works

*monastery of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary at Quebec (1895) *porter’s lodge at Spencer Wood in Sillery (1890) *Quebec’s pavilion at an exhibition in Jamaica (1891). File:Québec - Hôtel du Parlement 3.jpg,

1876-1887 File:Manege militaire quebec.jpg, Quebec City Armoury

References

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tache, Eugene-Etienne Eugene-Etienne Canadian architects Canadian surveyors Canadian Companions of the Imperial Service Order Pre-Confederation Quebec people People from Chaudière-Appalaches 1836 births 1912 deaths Upper Canada College alumni Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts