Joseph-Clovis-Kemner Laflamme was born on September 19, 1849, in Saint-Anselme, Lower Canada.

He was a Roman Catholic priest, educator, scientist, and writer. He studied at the Petit Séminaire de Québec (B.A., 1868), the Grand Séminaire de Québec (Ph.D., 1873) and was ordained a priest in 1872. In 1870, he became an instructor in natural history at the Petit Séminaire. In 1875, he started teaching physics at the Université Laval and was appointed chair of mineralogy and geology in the faculty of arts. He also taught geology, mineralogy, and botany. In 1881, he published a textbook for classical colleges, “Éléments de minéralogie et de géologie.” He also contributed numerous articles to L’Abeille, the seminary’s periodical. From 1891 to 1909, he was Dean of the Faculty of Arts. A brilliant speaker and able popularizer, he gave lectures before the Société Médicale de Québec, the Institut Canadien in Quebec, and the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec. He was president of the Royal Society of Canada from 1891 to 1892. He was a member of the Société géologique de France, the Société Française de Physique, the Société Scientifique de Bruxelles, and the Geological Society of America. In 1898, he was made a chevalier of the Légion d'honneur.

He died on July 6, 1910, in Quebec City, Quebec.