Sir John William Dawson, McGill's Principal from 1855 to 1893, was the first Canadian-born scientist to achieve world-wide recognition. Born in Pictou, Nova Scotia, Dawson made his early reputation as a geologist. Working with famed geologist Sir Charles Lyell, Dawson discovered some of the earliest known reptile specimens.

In 1855, Dawson was appointed Principal of what was then McGill College. Over his tenure, he established the foundations that would transform McGill from a small but ambitious college into a full-fledged university. The Times wrote in 1899 that "…the progress of that institution under his guidance was marvellous. … McGill has grown into a richly, though not too richly, endowed University with about 1,300 students and a prestige only excelled in America by that of Harvard."

A dedicated advocate of learning, Dawson brought in a reformed education system while serving as Superintendent of Education for Nova Scotia. During his McGill tenure, he became one of the founders and principal of the McGill Normal School, the institution that trained teachers. He also held seats both on the Provincial and Montreal Boards of Public Instruction.

The McGill Principal strongly believed in the value of knowledge. "It is a great mistake here to suppose that a little knowledge is dangerous," he said. "Every grain of pure truth is precious and will bear precious fruit".

Even with the heavy administrative burden of running a university, Dawson produced 25 books and more than 150 scholarly articles over his career. He wrote several works of popular science in addition to his academic works, and Dawson's contribution to our understanding of Devonian and Carboniferous geology cannot be underestimated.

A founding member and first president of the Royal Society of Canada, he was also a president of both the American and the British Associations for the Advancement of Science, the only person to have done so.