François-Xavier Tessier (September 15, 1799 – December 24, 1835) was a doctor, publisher, and political figure in

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...

. He was born in the town of Quebec in 1799. He studied medicine for several years and was qualified to practice as a surgeon in 1820. At the recommendation of the medical board of examiners, he studied medicine at a university in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and was qualified as a doctor in 1823. In the same year, he was named apothecary for the Quebec Emigrant Hospital. In 1824, he was named assistant surgeon for the militia. In 1826, he established a bimonthly medical publication, ''Quebec Medical Journal/Journal de médecine de Québec''; it was published until the fall of 1827. He helped found the Quebec Medical Society in 1826 and later served as its president. Tessier lived in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

from 1828 to 1830, where he contributed to a local newspaper. In 1830, he returned to Quebec where he was named health officer for the port. Tessier was also named administrator for a new hospital at Pointe-Lévy. He was fired from his posts at Quebec following the

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

epidemic of 1832; this may have been at least partly due to Tessier's politics. In 1831, Tessier was elected to the Quebec boards of medical examiners. He was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was the lower house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The legislative assembly was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. The lower house consisted of e ...

for Saguenay in an 1833 by-election held after the death of Joseph-Isidore Bédard; he was reelected in 1834. Tessier supported the

parti patriote The () or () was a primarily francophone political party in what is now Quebec founded by members of the liberal elite of Lower Canada at the beginning of the 19th century. Its members were made up of liberal professionals and small-scale ...

and voted in support of the

Ninety-Two Resolutions The Ninety-Two Resolutions were drafted by Louis-Joseph Papineau and other members of the '' Parti patriote'' of Lower Canada in 1834. The resolutions were a long series of demands for political reforms in the British-governed colony. Papineau ha ...

. In 1834, he was selected as physician for the Marine and Emigrant Hospital. He had also taught medicine and set up a clinic to vaccinate against

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

in his home. He died in office at Quebec City in 1835.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tessier, Francois-Xavier 1799 births 1835 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada