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George Mercer Dawson | |
|---|---|
 Dawson in 1885 | |
| Born | August 1, 1849 |
| Died | March 2, 1901(1901-03-02) (aged 51) Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation(s) | Geologist, surveyor |
George Mercer DawsonCMG FRS FRSC (August 1, 1849 – March 2, 1901) was a Canadiangeologist andsurveyor. He performed many early explorations in western North America and compiled numerous records of the native peoples.
He was born inPictou, Nova Scotia, the eldest son of SirJohn William Dawson, Principal ofMcGill University and a noted geologist, and his wife, Lady Margaret Dawson.[1] By age 11, he was afflicted withtuberculosis of the spine (Pott's disease) that resulted in a deformed back and stunted growth. Physical limitations, however, did not deter Dawson from becoming one of Canada's greatest scientists.[2]
Tutors and his father provided his education during his slow recovery from the illness. Dawson later attended theHigh School of Montreal andMcGill University (part-time) before moving toLondon to studygeology andpaleontology at theRoyal School of Mines (now part ofImperial College London) in 1869. Dawson graduated after three years with the highest marks in his class.
Dawson began his career in the 1870s as a professor of chemistry atMorrin College inQuebec City. From 1873 to 1875, he worked for the British North American Boundary Commission surveying the International Boundary. The result was the 387-pageReport on the Geology and Resources of the Region in the Vicinity of the Forty-Ninth parallel from the Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains, which established Dawson's reputation as a respected scientist.[3]
Dawson joined theGeological Survey of Canada (GSC) in 1875 and led many field parties in Canada's north and west. His work is credited as having laid the foundations of much of our knowledge of the geology and natural history of those regions. For example, during 1883 and 1884, Dawson travelled through theCanadian Rockies, where he mapped out the major mountains, mountain passes, and rivers. Some of the many peaks he charted wereMount Assiniboine, 3,618 meters (11,870 ft), andMount Temple, 3,543 meters (11,624 ft). As a result of his field research, a map of his work was published in 1886 covering the Canadian Rockies from the US border to theRed Deer River Valley andKicking Horse Pass.
In addition to his geological work, Dawson was keenly interested in the languages and cultures of theFirst Nations peoples he met in his travels. While studying the coal deposits of the Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii) in 1878, he prepared a comprehensive report on theHaida people, which included a vocabulary of theirlanguage. His photographs of Haida villages andtotem poles remain a treasured and unique record. He also published papers about theIndigenous peoples of theYukon and northernBritish Columbia, theKwakiutl people ofVancouver Island and theShuswap people of central British Columbia.
The field season of 1887 saw Dawson and his assistant R.G. McConnell exploring northern British Columbia and the headwaters of theYukon River, during which they made an arduous circuit by separate routes, on foot and by boat, of an area of 63,200 square miles (164,000 km2), which had been previously unknown except for First Nations accounts and those of a few prospectors. The results of the work included some of the first maps of the Yukon. His report was republished ten years later to satisfy interest in the region as a result of theKlondike Gold Rush.Dawson City, Yukon, was named in his honour, as wasDawson Creek, British Columbia.
In 1898, Dawson lead a field expedition with the intent of surveying resources, along with the famed anarchist,Peter Kropotkin, who was awed by the skill that he saw in Dawson and wrote that he knew "the Rocky Mountains and the coast ranges as his own garden."[4]
Dawson became assistant director of the GSC in 1883 and was appointed its third director in 1895. Under his leadership, the GSC continued its far-flung expeditions to study all aspects of Canada's geology and natural history. Reflecting Dawson's interest inethnology, the GSC's museum increased its indigenous collections, and these formed the basis of what is now theCanadian Museum of History. He also lobbied the government tirelessly to secure funding for a more suitable building to house the GSC's museum and scientific staff. This funding was granted just one month before his unexpected death inOttawa on March 2, 1901, after a one-day bout with acutebronchitis. He was interred in the family plot in theMount Royal Cemetery in Montreal. The building that resulted from his efforts was theVictoria Memorial Museum Building.
Dawson received anLL.D. fromQueen's University in 1890 and from McGill University in 1891. In 1891, Dawson was also named a fellow of theRoyal Society of London. In 1892, he was made a Companion of theOrder of St Michael and St George.
He was president of theGeological Society of America in 1900,[5] just seven years after his father served in the same role.
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| Preceded by | President of the Royal Society of Canada 1893–1894 | Succeeded by |
