Pierre Dansereau (October 5, 1911 – September 28, 2011) was a

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

ecologist Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels. Ecology overlaps with the closely re ...

from

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, ...

known as one of the "fathers of ecology".

Biography

Born in

Outremont, Quebec Outremont () is an affluent residential borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It consists entirely of the former city on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec. The neighbourhood is inhabited largely by F ...

(now part of

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

), he received a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (B.Sc.A.) in 1936 and a Ph.D. in Biological Science in 1939 from the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public university, public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by French theologian John Calvin as a Theology, theological seminary. It rema ...

. From 1939 until 1942 he worked at the

Montreal Botanical Garden The Montreal Botanical Garden (, ) is a large botanical garden in Montreal, Quebec, Canada comprising of thematic gardens and greenhouses. It was designated a National Historic Sites of Canada, National Historic Site of Canada in 2008 as it i ...

. From 1943 until 1950 he taught at the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) 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-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...

. From 1950 until 1955 he worked at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

Botanical Gardens. From 1955 until 1961 he worked in the Faculty of Science and as the director of the Botanical Institute at the Université de Montréal. In 1961 he returned to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

as the assistant director of the

New York Botanical Garden The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) is a botanical garden at Bronx Park in the Bronx, New York City. Established in 1891, it is located on a site that contains a landscape with over one million living plants; the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, ...

and as a professor of botany and geography at the

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. From 1972 until 1976 he was the Director of the Research Centre for Sciences and the Environment at the

Université du Québec à Montréal The (UQAM; ), is a French language, French-language public university, public research university based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest constituent element of the system. UQAM was founded on April 9, 1969, by the government o ...

(UQAM). In 1988 he was made a Professor Emeritus at UQAM, but he still worked there after mandatory retirement (in 1976, at 65 years old) to year 2004, aged 93. He was the subject of a 2001 documentary ''An Ecology of Hope'' by his cousin, Quebec filmmaker

Fernand Dansereau Fernand Dansereau (born April 5, 1928) is a Québécois people, Québécois film director and film producer. Biography After five years working as a reporter for the Montreal daily Le Devoir, Dansereau joined the National Film Board of Canada, ...

. On September 28, 2011, Pierre Dansereau died, one week before his 100th birthday, after 76 years of marriage, and three months after his wife (a painter) became a centenarian — they had no children. UQAM's Complexe des sciences Pierre-Dansereau was named for him.

Honours

In 1987 the Canadian Botanical Association awarded him the George Lawson Medal. * 1949 - Made a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , 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, bilingual council of distinguishe ...

(MSRC) * 1959 - Awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the

University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...

* 1965 - Awarded the

Léo-Pariseau Prize The Léo-Pariseau Prize is a Québécois prize which is awarded annually to a distinguished individual working in the field of biological or health sciences. The prize is awarded by the Association francophone pour le savoir ( Acfas), and is name ...

* 1969 - Made a Companion of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

* 1971 - Awarded honorary doctorate from

Sir George Williams University Sir George Williams University was a university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It merged with Loyola College to create Concordia University on August 24, 1974. History In 1851, the first YMCA in North America was established on Sainte-Hélène St ...

, which later became

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

. * 1972 - Delivered the

Massey Lecture The Massey Lectures is an annual five-part series of lectures given in Canada by distinguished writers, thinkers, and scholars who explore important ideas and issues of contemporary interest. Created in 1961 in honour of Vincent Massey, a former ...

* 1973 - Awarded the Royal Canadian Geographical Society's

Massey Medal The Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS) awards the Massey Medal annually to recognize outstanding personal achievement in the exploration, development or description of the geography of Canada. The award was established in 1959, by the M ...

* 1974 - Won the

Molson Prize The Thomas Henry Pentland Molson Prize for the Arts is awarded by the Canada Council, Canada Council for the Arts. Two prizes are awarded annually to distinguished individuals. One prize is awarded in the arts, one in the social sciences and human ...

* 1983 - Awarded the

Université de Sherbrooke The Université de Sherbrooke (UdeS; Quebec English, English: ''University of Sherbrooke'') is a French-language Public university, public research university in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, with a second campus in Longueuil, a suburb on the Mont ...

's prix Esdras-Minville * 1983 - Won the Government of Quebec's

Prix Marie-Victorin The Prix Marie-Victorin () is an award by the Government of Quebec The Government of Quebec (, ) is the body responsible for the administration of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. The term is typically used t ...

* 1985 - Made a Knight of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec ( French: ), also known as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governor Jean-Pierre Côté granted royal assent to the (Natio ...

; promoted to Grand Officer in 1992 * 1985 - Awarded the

Canada Council for the Arts The Canada Council for the Arts (), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It is Canada's public arts funder, with a mandate to foster and promote the study a ...

Killam Prize The Killam Prize (previously the Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Prize) was established according to the will of Dorothy J. Killam to honour the memory of her husband Izaak Walton Killam. Five Killam Prizes, each having a value of $100,000, were awa ...

* 1986 - Awarded the Canadian Botanical Association's George Lawson Medal * 1995 - Awarded the Royal Society of Canada's

Sir John William Dawson Medal The Sir John William Dawson Medal is an award of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC), established in 1985 and named after the society's first president: John William Dawson. The medal was endowed by McGill Graduates Society (founded by Sir William in ...

* 2001 - Inducted into the

Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame The Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame, was located at the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa, Ontario, honoured Canadians who have made outstanding contributions to society in science and engineering. It also promoted role m ...

Pierre Dansereau, Charles Scriver Inducted Into The Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame
, News Release, Canada Science and Technology Museum, November 8, 2001.

References

External links

Pierre Dansereau
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

Audio interview with Pierre Dansereau
on Les années lumière
'Barefoot ecologist' got up close to nature
Toronto Globe and Mail obituary {{DEFAULTSORT:Dansereau, Pierre 1911 births 2011 deaths Canadian ecologists Canadian expatriate academics in the United States University of Geneva alumni Grand Officers of the National Order of Quebec Companions of the Order of Canada Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada People from Outremont, Quebec Columbia University faculty University of Michigan staff Academic staff of the Université du Québec à Montréal Massey Medal recipients Fellows of the Ecological Society of America