Joseph-Charles Taché, was a multi-faceted member of the Taché family, a nephew of Sir Étienne-Paschal Taché

Étienne-Paschal Taché

Sir Étienne-Paschal Taché was a Canadian doctor, politician and one of the Fathers of Confederation.Born in St. Thomas, Lower Canada, in 1795, the third son of Charles Taché and Geneviève Michon, Taché studied at the Séminaire de Québec until the War of 1812 when he joined the 5th battalion of the...

. He was a student at the Petit Séminaire de Québec

Petit Séminaire de Québec

Le Petit Séminaire de Québec is a private French-language Roman Catholic secondary school in the Vieux-Québec area of Quebec City which was originally part of the Séminaire de Québec...

 and followed this by a study of medicine, receiving his medical diploma in 1844.

Taché practised medicine in Rimouski, and, at the age of 27, he was unopposed for a seat in the Legislative Assembly

Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada

The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the legislature for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper Canada, then known as Canada West and later the...

. His activity in politics led him into the newspaper business as a writer renowned for his caustic political wit. He enjoyed great popularity in this area as a writer and editor until 1859 when he left Le Courrier du Canada to pursue other writing full time. He returned to public life in 1864 as a senior civil servant in Ottawa

Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

for 24 years where he produced a lasting legacy of achievements in literary, cultural, scientific and political areas.