| Description |
1 online resource (274 pages, 13 unnumbered pages of plates) : illustrations, portraits |
| Physical Medium |
polychrome |
| Description |
text file |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 213-267) and index. |
| Summary |
Drawing on Dawson's correspondence and personal papers, Susan Sheets-Pyenson paints an intimate portrait of a pivotal figure in Canada's scientific heritage and a proper Victorian gentleman whose pious Presbyterianism, missionary zeal, and unwavering belief in the light of knowledge drove him on a quest to conquer ignorance, prejudice, and bigotry. |
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Dawson was born and raised in Pictou, Nova Scotia, where the many sandstone and coal formations provided fertile ground for his first scientific explorations and eventually brought him into contact with the leading geological minds of his day, Charles Lyell and William Logan, and culminated in the publication of Acadian Geology. He became principal of McGill University in 1855 and over the next forty years worked unceasingly to transform McGill from a "tiny, poverty-stricken provincial school" into a scientific institution of the highest rank. He was the only person to hold the presidency of both the American and British associations for the advancement of science. Dawson's energetic promotion of scientific institutions in Canada remains one of his most enduring legacies, particularly his role in creating the Royal Society of Canada. |
| Contents |
""Contents""; ""Preface""; ""1 Dawson and the Light of Knowledge""; ""2 Nova Scotia Roots""; ""3 So Many ""Opportunities of doing good""""; ""4 A Real Horse Race""; ""5 ""Good results in store""""; ""6 ""Stand by and grumble""""; ""7 ""None knew him but to love him""""; ""8 ""One of the deepest mortifications of my scientific life""""; ""9 A Mission of Popularization""; ""10 ""A quiet middle course""""; ""11 Nova Scotia Revisited""; ""12 ""Mighty trees from small saplings grow""""; ""13 Putting Montreal on the Scientific Map""; ""14 Toward International Science""; ""15 No More Toil"" |
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""Notes""""Index""; ""A""; ""B""; ""C""; ""D""; ""E""; ""F""; ""G""; ""H""; ""I""; ""J""; ""K""; ""L""; ""M""; ""N""; ""O""; ""P""; ""Q""; ""R""; ""S""; ""T""; ""U""; ""V""; ""W""; ""X""; ""Y"" |
| Local Note |
eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America |
| Subject |
Dawson, John William, Sir, 1820-1899.
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Dawson, John William, Sir, 1820-1899. |
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McGill University -- Presidents -- Biography.
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McGill University. |
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Presidents. |
| Genre/Form |
Biographies.
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| Subject |
Dawson, J. William, Sir. |
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Dawson, John William, Sir, 1820-1899. |
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McGill University -- Présidents -- Biographies. |
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Geologists -- Canada -- Biography.
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Geologists. |
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Canada. |
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Educators -- Canada -- Biography.
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Educators. |
| Genre/Form |
Electronic books.
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Biographies.
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| Other Form: |
Print version: Sheets-Pyenson, Susan, 1949- John William Dawson. Montreal, Qué. : McGill-Queen's University Press, ©1996 (DLC) 97126059 |
| ISBN |
9780773565760 (electronic book) |
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0773565760 (electronic book) |
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077351368X |
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9780773513686 |
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