Term 1913–1914 Education Laval University | Role Judge Name Adolphe-Basile Routhier | |
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Occupation lawyer, author, judge, and professor Title President of the Royal Society of Canada Died June 27, 1920, Quebec, Canada Resting place Cimetiere Notre-Dame-de-Belmont | ||
Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier, FRSC (May 8, 1839 – June 27, 1920) was a Canadian judge, author, and lyricist. He wrote the lyrics of the original French version of the Canadian national anthem "O Canada". He was born in Saint-Placide, Quebec, to Charles Routhier and Angélique Lafleur.
Routhier studied law at Université Laval. He graduated and was called to the Quebec bar in 1861. He was appointed to the Quebec Superior Court in 1873 (as Chief Justice from 1904 to 1906) and Admiralty of the Exchequer Court of Canada (from 1897 to 1906).
Routhier was involved in several federal elections as a Conservative candidate, but he was never elected. In June 1914, Routhier was one of the three judges appointed to conduct the Commission of Inquiry into the sinking of the Canadian Pacific steamship the Empress of Ireland, which had resulted in the loss of 1,012 lives.
Routhier married Clorinde Mondelet on November 12, 1862, in Quebec and had one son.
Honors
Many sites and landmarks were named to honour Basile Routhier. They include: