Michel Sarrazin

Michel Sarrazin (5 September 1659 – 8 September 1734) was an early Canadian scientist and naturalist.

Born in Nuits-sous-Beaune in the province of Burgundy, Sarrazin arrived in New France in 1685. In 1686, he was made surgeon-major of the colonial regular troops and he continued in that position until 1692 when he was succeeded by Pierre Baudeau. He had frequent professional contact with Michel Bertier who was the surgeon-major of Quebec and was also the surgeon for the Hôtel-Dieu

Sarrazin spent three years studying medicine. He was then introduced to botany by scientist Joseph Pitton de Tournefort . He spent almost thirty years collecting and observing plants and minerals. He was the first person to collect and catalog plant specimens systematically. Sarrazin also dissected animals and sent his tests to scientists in France. His herbarium of dried plants is said to contain about eight hundred species. He cared for the soldiers, fur traders, settlers, and native people for 50 years. Michel Sarrazin helped hundreds of troops recover from smallpox, yellow fever, and influenza. His work was continued by Jean-Francois Gaultier.

Le Prix Michel-Sarrazin was named for him.

References

• Michel Sarrazin at The Canadian Encyclopedia
• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• The Canadian Physiological Society Sarrazin lectureship
• Club de Recherches Cliniques du Québec (French)
• La Fondation de la Maison Michel-Sarrazin (French).
• Biography - Michel Sarrazin

Persondata
Name	Sarrazin, Michel
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Date of birth	5 September 1659
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Date of death	8 September 1734
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