Education
He was educated at McGill University and the Royal School of Mines, London, where he studied from 1869 to 1872.
He was educated at McGill University and the Royal School of Mines, London, where he studied from 1869 to 1872.
In 1883 he was appointed assistant director of the Geological Survey of Canada, becoming director in 1895, a position which he retained until his death. He was leader of the Canadian government expedition to the Yukon in 1887, and the gold-mining city of Dawson is named after him. He was one of the Bering Sea commissioners in 1891 and was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of London in the same year. In 1893 he served as president of the Royal Society of Canada. Dawson was largely responsible for the mapping of much of Canada.