Item GA 15 - John William Dawson correspondence

Sir John William Dawson was born at Port Pictou, N.S. Oct. 13, 1820. He was educated at Pictou Academy and University of Edinburgh. In 1850 he was appointed Superintendent of Education for Nova Scotia, an office which he held for 3 years. In 1855 he became Principal and Professor of Natural History at McGill University. In 1857 he became Principal of McGill Normal School for the Training of School Teachers. In 1858 he established a School of Civil Engineering at McGill. He received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from McGill and a Master of Arts from the University of Edinburgh. He was a member of the Natural History Society of Montreal, of the Canadian Institute, Toronto, was a corresponding member of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and honorary member of the Botanical Society of Canada. He had numerous essays and articles published. He died in 1899.