Adolphe-Basile Routhier
Adolphe-Basile Routhier (1839-1920) was a notable Canadian figure known primarily for composing the French lyrics to "O, Canada," the national anthem of Canada. Born in Saint-Placide, Quebec, he pursued education at the Petit Séminaire de Sainte-Thérèse and later studied law at Université Laval, being called to the bar in 1861. Routhier established his legal practice in Kamouraska and was also an accomplished writer and journalist, contributing to various publications including Le Courrier du Canada. His literary talents were recognized early on, earning him a bronze medal for poetry in 1867. In addition to his literary and legal careers, he served as a judge in the Quebec Superior Court and became chief justice in 1904. Routhier was honored with the title of knight in the Order of St. Gregory the Great and later became a knight bachelor. His contributions to Canadian culture, particularly through his anthem work, have left a lasting legacy.
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Adolphe-Basile Routhier
- Born: May 8, 1839
- Birthplace: Saint-Placide, Quebec, Canada
- Died: June 27, 1920
- Place of death: Saint Irenee-les Bains, Quebec, Canada
Biography
Adolphe-Basile Routhier was born in Saint-Placide, Quebec, Canada, in 1839, the son of Charles Routhier, a Canadian farmer and War of 1812 veteran, and Angélique Lafleur. Routhier attended the Petit Séminaire de Sainte- Thérèse from 1850 to 1858, and then pursued law studies at the Université Laval. With his 1861 admission to the bar, Routhier established his practice in Kamouraska, Quebec. On November 12, 1862, he married Clorinde Mondelet, and the couple later had one son.
Routhier was passionate about writing from early on in his life, and he won the bronze medal in an 1867 poetry competition at the Université Laval. In 1871, a collection of articles he had written for Le Courrier du Canada, a Quebec newspaper, was published as Causeries du Dimanche. He also served as a journalist for Le Nouveau monde and Le Courrier du Canada. In 1873, he was appointed a judge in the Quebec Superior Court, in the district of Saguenay; in the same year, Routhier, a conservative, used a pseudonym to publish Portraits et pastels littéraires, which angered liberal writers with its assertion that their skills in the French language were lacking.
Later in the 1870’s, Routhier was declared a knight in the Order of St Gregory the Great by Pope Pius IX. In the spring of 1880, Routhier, upon request, composed the work for which he is best known, the French lyrics for the Canadian national anthem “O, Canada.” The anthem, with music by Calixa Lavallée, was performed for the first time in June, 1880, at the Convention Nationale des Canadiens Français. The work became a long-term effort for Routhier; he created roughly twenty versions and translations in the following years.
In September, 1904, Routhier was named chief justice of the Quebec Superior Court, and he retired from judicial life in 1906. He became a knight bachelor in June, 1911, and the president of the Royal Society of Canada from 1914 to 1915. He died in 1920 at the age of eighty-one.