George Mercer Dawson

Born Aug. 1, 1849, in Pictou, Canada; died Mar. 2, 1901, in Ottawa. Canadian geologist, geographer, and traveler. Investigated the western regions of Canada, British Columbia, and the Canadian Rockies.

In 1878, Dawson explored the upper reaches of the Fraser River. From 1880 to 1882 he conducted a geological survey of the Bow and Belly rivers and from 1882 to 1884, of various western parts of the Rocky Mountains. In 1895 he became director of the Canadian Geological Survey. A city at the mouth of the Klondike River in northwestern Canada and a mountain range in the upper reaches of the Yukon River have been named after him. Dawson also investigated Vancouver Island and the Queen Charlotte Islands. In 1887-88 he headed an expedition for the geological-geographical study of the Yukon in northwestern Canada.