Henri Dorion

Born in Quebec City on 4 May 1935, Dorion was the son of politician Noël Dorion and his wife, Olga Malherbe. After pursuing his passions of piano, geography, and languages, an accident forced him to abandon his desire to become a pianist. He was instead admitted to the Bar of Quebec in 1958.^[2] Dorion was father of actress Nathalie Coupal [fr], dancer Geneviève Dorion-Coupal, musologist Anik Dorion-Coupal, and anthropologist Karen Dorion-Coupal. He was also the uncle of politician Catherine Dorion and the nephew of politician Charles-Napoléon Dorion and judge Frédéric Dorion. His wife was journalist and academic Renée Hudon.^[3]

Dorion became an expert in the fields of geography and toponymy, writing a Master's thesis on the toponymy of Labrador.^[4] He was a professor at the Université Laval from 1964 to 1980.^[5] He also held leadership roles in various commissions, such as the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names and the Commission d'étude sur l'intégrité du territoire du Québec [fr].^[2] In 1978, he was named president of the Commission de toponymie du Québec, a position in which he held three nonconsecutive terms.^[6] He directed conservation, research, and international exhibits at the Musée de la civilisation from 1988 to 1993, to which he donated several musical instruments.^[7] Some of his works have been digitized by the Centre collégial de développement de matériel didactique.^[8]

Dorion died in Quebec City on 12 January 2026, at the age of 90.^[9]