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Jacques Rousseau, botanist, ethnobiologist, ethnohistorian (born 5 October 1905 in Saint-Lambert, QC; died 4 August 1970, at Lac Ouareau, QC). Rousseau was one of the founding members and the first secretary of l’Association canadienne-française pour l’avancement des sciences (Acfas), as well as the organizer of the first Acfas congress. He also participated in the advancement of ethnological research about Indigenous peoples of Canada.
Career and Interdisciplinary Research
Skilled in many natural sciences and humanities, and gifted with an encyclopedic knowledge, Jacques Rousseau produced around 550 publications in several fields, such as ethnology, linguistics, history, geography and botany. His research motivated his trips in remote regions of Quebec, including the Quebec-Labrador peninsula. Rousseau was first secretary (1930-46) of l'Acfas, as well as one of its founding members. He received his doctorate in science from l’Université de Montréal (UdeM), and later became a director of its Botanical Institute (1944-56). His interdisciplinary competence played a role in his becoming the first director of the Human History Division of the National Museums of Canada (1956-59).
His written work (observation notes, diary, reviews, articles), including numerous articles on "Amerindiens" - a terminology then used for Indigenous peoples in ethnological writings - demonstrate impressive observational skills and views that were considered original for the time. His interdisciplinary writings reveal a breadth of scientific knowledge, though his innovating talents were not fully recognized in his lifetime. His co-edition, with Guy Béthune, of Pehr Kalm’s Voyage de Pehr Kalm au Canada en 1749 was completed by Pierre Morisset and published in 1977.
