François Blanchet (April 3, 1776 – June 24, 1830) was a physician, businessman,

seigneur A seigneur () or lord is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. The seigneur owned a seigneurie, seigneury, or lordship—a form of ...

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

Saint-Pierre-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud Saint-Pierre-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud () is a parish municipality in Quebec, Canada. Demographics In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Saint-Pierre-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud had a population of living in of its total ...

in 1776 and studied at the

Petit Séminaire of Quebec Petit is a French-language surname literally meaning "small" or "little". Notable people with the surname include: *Adriana Petit (born 1984), Spanish multidisciplinary artist *Alexis Thérèse Petit (1791–1820), French physicist * Amandine Pet ...

. He went on to study medicine with James Fisher and then at Columbia College where he received a

Bachelor of Medicine A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education tradi ...

. In 1801, he was elected as a member to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

. Later that year, he returned to Lower Canada and passed an exam to allow him to practice as a physician and surgeon. He married Catherine-Henriette, the daughter of seigneur Antoine Juchereau Duchesnay, in 1802 and set up practice 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 ...

. He was named as a surgeon for the militia in 1805. In 1806, he was one of the founders of ''

Le Canadien ''Le Canadien'' () was a French language newspaper published at various times in Lower Canada, then the Province of Canada, and finally the province of Quebec, at various times in the 19th century. It went through three different publication pha ...

''; because this newspaper was often critical of the authorities, Blanchet was removed from his post in the militia in 1808. In 1809, 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 Hertford County. Governor

James Henry Craig General Sir James Henry Craig KB (1748 – 12 January 1812) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor general of British North America from 1807 to 1811. Early life and military service Craig came from a ...

jailed him for sedition in 1810. However, Blanchet was reelected in that year and continued to hold a seat in the assembly until he was defeated in March 1816; Blanchet was reelected in a subsequent by-election and served until his death in Quebec City in 1830. He was a supporter and spokesperson for the

parti Canadien 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 ...

in the assembly. He was named as a justice of the peace for Quebec district in 1815. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, Blanchet served as superintendent for military hospitals in Lower Canada. He served on the medical staff and helped manage the Emigrant Hospital. He was a contributor to ''Quebec Medical Journal/Journal de médecine de Québec'', the first medical journal published in Canada and promoted the development of medical education in the province, both as a physician and as a member of the legislative assembly. In 1830, he was named to the board of medical examiners for Quebec district. Blanchet had inherited property when his father-in-law died; he also was able to purchase additional property from the other heirs and had acquired other land on his own. His nephew, Jean Blanchet, was also a doctor involved in politics, and his grandson, William Henry Chaffers, served in the Canadian Senate.

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blanchet, Francois 1776 births 1830 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons alumni