Douglas Mawson

Sir Douglas Mawson OBE FRS FAA (1882–1958) was an Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer and academic. Mawson was a key expedition leader during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. The other key leaders were Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton.

Sir

Douglas Mawson

Douglas Mawson 1914 1.jpeg
Mawson in 1914
Born(1882-05-05)5 May 1882
Died14 October 1958(1958-10-14) (aged 76)
NationalityAustralian
EducationFort Street Model School and University of Sydney, Sydney
OccupationGeologist, chemistry demonstrator, Antarctic explorer, academic
Known forFirst ascent of Mount Erebus
First team to reach the South Magnetic Pole
Sole survivor of Far Eastern Party
Australasian Antarctic Expedition
Mawson's Huts
Mawson Plateau
Spouse(s)Francisca Paquita Delprat (1891-1974), married 1914
ChildrenPatricia (1915-1999)
Jessica (1917-2004)
AwardsFellow of the Royal Society
Bigsby Medal (1919)
Clarke Medal (1936)

Mawson was born in Shipley, West Yorkshire on 5 May 1882. When he was only two years old, his family immigrated to Australia and settled in Rooty Hill, New South Wales. He went to Fort Street Model School. Then he studied at the University of Sydney, where he graduated in 1902 with a Bachelor of Engineering. Mawson spent his life on Antarctic expeditions and academic work. He died in Brighton, South Australia on 14 October 1958.

Douglas Mawson Media