Trailblazer
George Mercer Dawson
1849–1901
Paleontologist and Chief Geologist, Geological
Survey of Canada (GSC),
1875–1901
GSC Director, 1895–1901
Pioneering field scientist
George Mercer Dawson was considered to be the finest Canadian field
scientist of his time. He surveyed the Prairies, British Columbia and
the Yukon before the country was opened up to the railway and settlement,
and his survey records were valuable guides to the natural resources
of northern and western Canada.
Determined to succeed
George was born in Pictou, Nova Scotia, in 1849. As a boy, he contracted
Pott's disease — tuberculosis of the spine — which
left his back deformed and permanently stunted his growth to the size
of a 12-year-old boy.
Because of his lengthy illness and recuperation, George was educated
at home. Later, he attended McGill University part-time, and then continued
his studies under renowned geologists at the Royal School of Mines in
England, where he graduated with scholastic honors.
Challenges of all kinds
His education completed, he returned to Canada. In 1873, at age 24,
George was appointed Geologist and Botanist to Her Majesty's British
North America Boundary Commission, and spent the next few years surveying
the 49th parallel. Despite his physical challenges, he traveled from
Lake of the Woods in western Ontario to the Rocky Mountains. His mapping
skills were phenomenally accurate, and his subsequent report to the Commission
on the geology and resources of the Prairies stimulated the colonization
and development of western Canada.
In 1875, he was appointed Paleontologist and Chief Geologist of the
Geological Survey of Canada
(GSC) and began two decades of exhaustive
geological
exploration that took him throughout British Columbia, the Yukon and
as far north as the Bering Sea. In 1887, he predicted rich gold discoveries
in the Yukon, and almost a decade later, prospectors reaped their rewards
using his maps.
What George may have lacked in physical prowess, he made up for in determination
and spirit. He painstakingly covered thousands of miles of uncharted
wilderness by canoe, steamboat, horseback, wagon train, railway and on
foot. He conducted studies in topography, geology and forestry and drew
attention to the potential mineral and forestry wealth hidden in the
northern and western regions of Canada.
Photographer extraordinaire
While exploring and working in western Canada, George met First Nations
people and studied their languages and customs, earning him the title
of Father of Canadian Anthropology. His essay on the Haida of the Queen
Charlotte Islands offered insightful ethnological observations.
George's hundreds of photographs are an incredible record of a
long-ago era. He documented First Nations' village life, tradition
and dress and captured images of wagon trains heading west, men building
bridges, steamboats in the Yukon and frontier villages — invaluable
historical moments.
Honoured geologist
George authored many articles that won him honours in British and American
scientific circles. He received his Doctorate of Science from Princeton
University in 1877. In 1895, he became the third Director of the GSC.
George was described as vibrant and full of energy, with a reputation
as a charming, witty raconteur. He died of acute bronchitis on March
2, 1901, in Ottawa, leaving behind a legacy of knowledge about Canada's
landscape and people.
Dawson City, Yukon, and Dawson Creek in British Columbia are both named
in his honour.
Life achievements
- 1873–76 — Became geologist, botanist and surveyor with
the International Boundary Commission, marking the border of Canada. - 1875 — Hired as Paleontologist and Chief Geologist of the Geological
Survey of Canada (GSC). - 1877 — Explored northern British Columbia and the headwaters
of the Yukon River. - 1877 — Received doctorate from Princeton University.
- 1883–84 — Conducted the first Government of Canada survey
of the Rockies. - 1895 — Appointed Director of the GSC.
- 1896 — Elected President of the Geological Society
- of America.