Frere Marie-Victorin

Frère Marie-Victorin was born Conrad Kirouac at Kingsey Falls, Quebec, in 1885. In 1901 he joined Les Frères des écoles chrétiennes, a Roman Catholic men's teaching order. He taught in various Quebec schools while increasing his knowledge in botany, which he acquired largely by self-instruction. His scholarly reputation grew quickly, and in 1920 the University of Montreal hired him as a botany professor. Marie-Victorin did extensive field work despite lifelong poor health. He became the foremost Canadian botanist in the field of the geographical distribution of plants. The scientific community greatly admired his publications. Some individuals learned French specifically to read his "La Flore laurentienne". Marie-Victorin founded the Montreal Botanical Garden and the Botanical Institute of the University of Montreal. He died in 1944. The Botanist stamps were designed by Roger Hill of Toronto. The designs feature portrait and a collage of dried plant specimens, as an indication of their lifetime interest in the study of plants.