Jeanne Mance

November 12^th, 1606 - June 18^th, 1673

French founder of the Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal

Jeanne Mance was born into a bourgeois family and was a very devout person. In 1641, she set out for New France, which was then in full expansion, and the following year, along with Maisonneuve, she took part in the foundation of Ville-Marie (now Montréal). In 1645, thanks to the support of Anne of Austria and backed up by the Société Notre-Dame de Montréal, she supervised the construction of a care centre—a general hospital like the Hôtel-Dieu in the city of Québec—of which she was the director until the end of her life.

Since May 17, 2012, the City of Montréal has officially recognized Jeanne Mance as co-founder of Montréal.