Sir John William Dawson, KCMG , FRSC (October 13, 1820 – November 19, 1899), was a Canadian geologist, born in Pictou, Nova Scotia. Of Scottish descent, Dawson attended Edinburgh University to complete his education, and graduated in 1842, having gained a knowledge of geology and natural history from Robert Jameson. On the Orders insignia, St Michael is often depicted subduing Satan. ... The Royal Society of Canada, The Canadian Academy of the Sciences and Humanities, is the senior national body of distinguished Canadian scientists and scholars. ... October 13 is the 286th day of the year (287th in leap years). ... 1820 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... November 19 is the 323rd day of the year (324th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1899 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... A geologist is a contributor to the science of geology. ... Pictou is a small town on the northern coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in Pictou County. ... Scotland (Alba in Scottish Gaelic) is a country in northwest Europe and a constituent nation of the United Kingdom. ... The University of Edinburgh was founded in 1583 as a renowned centre for teaching in Edinburgh, Scotland. ... 1842 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Natural history is an umbrella term for what are now usually viewed as a number of distinct scientific disciplines. ... Robert Jameson Robert Jameson, (1774-1854), Scottish naturalist and mineralogist, was born in Leith in July 1774. ...

John William Dawson

Dawson returned to Nova Scotia in 1842, accompanied by Sir Charles Lyell on his first visit to that territory. Dawson was subsequently appointed to the post of superintendent of education (1850-1853); at the same time he entered zealously into the geology of Canada, making a special study of the fossil forests of the coal-measures. From these strata, in company with Lyell (during his second visit) in 1852, he obtained the first remains of an air-breathing reptile named Dendrerpeton. He also described the fossil plants of the Silurian, Devonian and Carboniferous rocks of Canada for the Geological Survey of Canada (1871-1873). Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Charles Lyell Sir Charles Lyell (November 14, 1797 – February 22, 1875), British lawyer, geologist, and popularizer of uniformitarianism. ... It has been suggested that Prehistoric reptile be merged into this article or section. ... The Silurian is a major division of the geologic timescale that extends from the end of the Ordovician period, about 439 million years ago (mega years ago, mya), to the beginning of the Devonian period, about 408. ... The Devonian is a major division of the geologic timescale that extends from the end of the Silurian period (360 million years ago (mya)) to the beginning of the Mississippian subperiod of the Carboniferous (408. ... The Carboniferous is a major division of the geologic timescale that extends from the end of the Devonian period, about 340 million years ago (mya), to the beginning of the Permian period, about 280 mya. ... The Geological Survey of Canada or GSC is part of the Earth Sciences Sector of Natural Resources Canada. ...

From 1855 to 1893 he was professor of geology and principal of McGill University in Montreal, an institution which under his influence attained a high reputation. He was elected FRS in 1862. When the Royal Society of Canada was created he was the first to occupy the presidential chair, and he also acted as president of the British Association at its meeting at Birmingham in 1886, and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Sir William Dawson's name is especially associated with the Eozoon canadense, which in 1864 he described as an organism having the structure of a foraminifer. It was found in the Laurentian rocks, regarded as the oldest known geological system. His views on the subject were contested at the time, and have since been disproven, the so-called organism being now regarded as a mineral structure. He was created CMG in 1881, and was knighted in 1884. In his books on geological subjects he maintained a distinctly theological attitude, declining to admit the descent or evolution of man from brute ancestors, and holding that the human species only made its appearance on this earth within quite recent times. McGill University is a publicly funded, research-intensive, non-denominational, co-educational university located in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. ... This article needs cleanup. ... The Royal Society of London is claimed to be the oldest learned society still in existence and was founded in 1660. ... The Royal Society of Canada, The Canadian Academy of the Sciences and Humanities, is the senior national body of distinguished Canadian scientists and scholars. ... Laurentian may refer to: Laurentian, Ontario Laurentian University Laurentian mountains Laurentian shield (Canadian Shield) Laurentian Plateau (Canadian Shield) Laurentia (the craton at the heart of North America) Laurentian Bank of Canada This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... On the Orders insignia, St Michael is often depicted subduing Satan. ... A statue of an armoured knight of the Middle Ages For the chess piece, see knight (chess). ... 1884 is a leap year starting on Tuesday (click on link to calendar). ...

Besides many memoirs in the Transactions of learned societies, he published Acadian geology: Acadians are the original French settlers of parts of the northeastern region of North America comprising what is now the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. ...

• The geological structure, organic remains and mineral resources of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island (1855; ed. 3, 1878);
• Air-breathers of the Coal Period (1863);
• The Story of the Earth and Man (1873; ed. 6, 1880);
• The Dawn of Life (1875);
• Fossil Men and their Modern Representatives (1880);
• Geological History of Plants (1888);
• The Canadian Ice Age (1894).

John's son, George Mercer Dawson (1849-1901), became a well known and respected scientist and geologist in his own right. George Mercer Dawson (August 1, 1849-March 2, 1901) was a Canadian scientist and surveyor. ...

He is interred in the Mount Royal Cemetery in Montreal, Quebec and is the namesake for Dawson College. The mineral Dawsonite, which was discovered during the building of the Redpath Museum with which he was intimately related, is named in his honour. Mount Royal Cemetery Opened in 1852, Mount Royal Cemetery is a 165-acre (668 000 m²) terraced cemetery on the north slope of Mount Royal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. ... This article needs cleanup. ... Dawson College is a CEGEP (Collège denseignement général et professionnel or College of General and Vocational Education) located in Montreal, Quebec. ... Dawsonite is a mineral composed of sodium aluminium carbonate hydroxide, chemical formula NaAlCO3(OH)2. ... The Redpath Museum is a museum of natural history belonging to McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. ...

External links

• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• Biography from the Museum of Nova Scotia

This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, which is in the public domain. Supporters contend that the Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1911) represents, in many ways, the sum of knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...