Background
Dawson, Mary Ruth was born on February 27, 1931 in Highland Park, Michigan, United States. Daughter of John Elson and Olga Josephine (Down) Dawson.
Dawson, Mary Ruth was born on February 27, 1931 in Highland Park, Michigan, United States. Daughter of John Elson and Olga Josephine (Down) Dawson.
Bachelor of Science, Michigan State College, 1952. Postgraduate, University Edinburgh, 1953. Doctor of Philosophy, University Kansas, 1957.
Doctor of Humanities (honorary), Chatham College, 1983. Doctor of Science (honorary), Michigan State University, 2005.
She held the position of curator from 1972 to 2003, and was chair of the Earth Sciences Division from 1973 to 1997. During a research expedition to the Arctic in the 1970s and "80s she and her team discovered the first fossils of Tertiary land animals that documented a migration route between North America and Europe. This migration route provided evidence and support for the theory of plate tectonics.
In 1992 Doctor Dawson became the first American woman to receive the Associate of Science
Fellow Geological Society American, Arctic Institute North America. Member Society Vertebrate Paleontology (vice president 1972-1973, president 1973-1974), Paleontological Society, Paläontologische Gesellschaft, Bernese Mountain Dog Club American, American Society Mammalogists, Phi Beta Kappa.