Sir Douglas Mawson was an Australian explorer, geologist and academic.
An alumnus of the University of Sydney, Mawson developed interest in
expeditions early in his life. As a lecturer at the University of
Adelaide, he became interested in rocks left by melting glaciers and
therefore, when he got the chance to join Nimrod Expedition to
Antarctica he readily agreed. Soon after returning, he organized his own
Australian Antarctic Expedition. The data collected by the expedition
were later edited and published in twenty-two volumes. However, the
expedition also highlighted his survival capacity. After the death of
his two companions he traveled for almost a month all by himself and
reached the base camp only to find that the ship had left just few hours
before his arrival. Much later, he led another expedition to the
Antarctic. It enabled Australia to claim some 2,500,000 square miles of
the continent.
Childhood & Early Years
Douglas
Mawson was born on May 5, 1882, in Shipley, West Yorkshire, England.
His father, Robert Mawson, was a cloth merchant from a farming
background. His mother’s name was Margaret Ann née Moore.
Major Works
- Mawson is best known for his expeditions to Antarctica. They enabled Australia to claim some 2,500,000 square miles of that continent. These expeditions also collected huge amount of scientific data, which helped to carry on further investigation.
- Mawson also made major contributions to Australian geology. In later years, he worked on the 'Adelaide System' of Precambrian rocks in the Flinders Ranges and identified its two groups. His findings have been documented in his report ‘Geological investigations in the Broken Hill area’.
- Mawson also discovered a new mineral and named it Davidite after his mentor Professor TW Edgeworth David.Awards & Achievements
- Mawson was knighted in 1914 for his achievements as an explorer and scientist.
- In 1915, the Royal Geographical Society awarded him with Founder's Gold Medal.
- In 1916 the American Geographical Society awarded him the David Livingstone Centenary Medal.
- In 1919, he received Bigsby Medal from the Geological Society of London.
- In 1923, Mawson was made a Fellow of the Royal Society
- In 1936, he received the Clarke Medal from the Royal Society of New South Wales.
