Jacques Viger (politician, 1787)

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Jacques Viger

Jacques Viger (born May 7, 1787 in Montreal , † December 12, 1858 ibid) was a Canadian politician and from 1833 to 1836 the first mayor of the city of Montreal. In addition, he was also an officer , journalist , author and historian .

Life

The son of Jacques Viger sr. received his training at the Sulpizianer Kollegium Saint-Raphaël in Montreal. In 1808 and 1809 he worked temporarily in Québec as editor of the newspaper Le Canadien . He then began to work on Ma Saberdache , a collection of personal reflections as well as transcribed documents and correspondence of historical significance. Ultimately, his life's work was to comprise 43 volumes. During the British-American War he served under Charles-Michel de Salaberry as captain of the Voltigeurs Light Infantry Regiment of Canada . After the end of the war he served in the Montreal militia.

In 1813, Viger began his public service career as an inspector for roads and bridges. He performed this task in addition to his military function. In 1825 he was commissioned to carry out the census on the Île de Montréal , and three years later he implemented a new division of the constituencies. At his instigation, the barriers to census voting were lowered significantly, from which the less affluent French Canadians in particular benefited. In 1826 he was a co-founder of La Minerve newspaper .

In 1832 Montreal was granted city status, giving it the right to self-govern. Not least because of his good reputation as a civil servant, Viger was elected the city's first mayor in 1833. Apart from extensive sewer construction in the suburbs, with which the outbreak of cholera epidemics could be contained, his term of office was marked by hardly any progress. Viger, who had designed the first Montreal city coat of arms , resigned in 1836, after which the city was again placed under the administration of a council of justices of the peace for a period of four years. In 1840 he had to give up his post as road and bridge inspector, as he was suspected of supporting the Lower Canada rebellion (his cousin Louis-Joseph Papineau had been the leader of the rebels).

Stained glass in McGill Metro Station depicting Jacques Viger and Peter McGill .

Viger devoted himself increasingly to his research, specializing in the history and geography of the Montreal region. He edited several books mainly concerned with the city's religious institutions. In 1843 Viger co-founded the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal and in 1858 the Société historique de Montréal . In 1855 he was awarded the Order of Gregorius for his services . His book collection included 1200 works. A year after his death appeared the first part of a treatise on slavery in Canada , which he had written with Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine .

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personal data
SURNAME Viger, Jacques
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian politician, journalist, author, officer, archaeologist
DATE OF BIRTH May 7, 1787
PLACE OF BIRTH Montreal
DATE OF DEATH December 12, 1858
Place of death Montreal