Georges Brossard facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Georges Brossard
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Brossard in 1998, while filming Insectia
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| Born | 11 February 1940 La Prairie, Quebec
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| Died | 26 June 2019 (aged 79) Saint-Mathieu-de-Beloeil, Quebec, Canada
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| Occupation | Entomology |
| Awards | Order of Canada, National Order of Quebec |
Georges Brossard, CM CQ (February 11, 1940 – June 26, 2019) was a Canadian entomologist. An entomologist is a scientist who studies insects. Georges Brossard is famous for starting the Montreal Insectarium.
He passed away on June 26, 2019, when he was 79 years old.
Contents
Life and Love for Insects
Georges Brossard loved insects from a very young age. Before he became a full-time insect expert, he worked as a notary until he was 38.
After that, he started traveling the world. On his trips, he carefully studied all the different insects he found. He became very knowledgeable about them.
Founding the Montreal Insectarium
By 1989, Georges Brossard had collected over 250,000 insect specimens. He then spoke with Jean Doré, who was the mayor of Montreal at the time. Brossard wanted to open a special place for insects, an insectarium.
He worked with Pierre Bourque, who was in charge of the Montreal Botanical Gardens. Together, they created and managed the Montreal Insectarium.
Georges Brossard didn't stop there! He went on to found four more insectariums in other parts of the world. Some of these are in places as far away as Shanghai and South Africa. Since the Montreal Insectarium opened, his personal collection of insects has grown to more than 500,000 specimens. He continued to collect them during his travels.
TV Shows and Films
Georges Brossard also shared his passion for insects through television. He wrote and directed 20 episodes of a show called Mémoires d'insectes, which means "Insect Diaries." He was also the creator and host of another TV series called Insectia.
He was also a co-founder and co-president of Montreal's Cinéma IMAX les Ailes.
In 2004, a movie called Le Papillon Bleu (The Blue Butterfly) was made about him. This fiction film was based on a real event from Georges Brossard's life in 1987.
The Blue Butterfly Story
Georges Brossard worked with the Children's Wish Foundation of Canada. This foundation helps children with serious illnesses fulfill their dreams. In 1987, he traveled to South America with a boy who was very sick with cancer.
The boy's dream was to catch a special, mythical blue morpho butterfly. Georges went to great lengths to find this butterfly in the huge jungles. He even faced dangers to help the boy.
Finally, they managed to catch the beautiful blue butterfly. When they returned to Québec, something amazing happened: the boy's cancer, which had been getting worse, miraculously got better.
Later Life
Georges Brossard passed away on June 26, 2019. He was at the Victor-Gadbois de Saint-Mathieu-de-Beloeil palliative care centre. He was 79 years old. He had been admitted to the facility a few days earlier, as he was suffering from lung cancer.
Awards and Honors
Georges Brossard received many important awards for his work and his contributions to science and education:
- 1999 – He became a Member of the Order of Canada. This is one of Canada's highest honors.
- He received the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal.
- He was given the Léon-Provencher Prize from the Société d’Entomologie du Québec (Quebec Entomology Society).
- He was awarded the Louis-Riel Medal.
- He received honorary doctorates (Doctorats Honoris Causa) in sciences from Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières.
- He also received honorary doctorates in sciences from McGill University.
- 2006 – He was made a Knight of the National Order of Quebec. This is a high honor from the province of Quebec.
See also
- List of entomologists
- Lists of Canadians#Scientists
