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 | |
|---|---|
 Mawson in 1914 | |
| Born | 5 May 1882 Shipley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 14 October 1958 (aged 76) Brighton, South Australia, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Education | Fort Street Model School and University of Sydney, Sydney |
| Occupation | Geologist, chemistry demonstrator, Antarctic explorer, academic |
| Known for | First 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 |
| Children | Patricia (1915-1999) Jessica (1917-2004) |
| Awards | Fellow 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
Mackay, David, and Mawson raise the flag at the South magnetic pole on 16 January 1909.
Mawson resting at the side of his sledge, Adélie Land, Antarctica, 1912
- Dr. Mawson's sledge, right side, background out. Wellcome Images*Keywords: Douglas Mawson; explorers
Sir Douglas Mawson's grave in the historic (estab 1854) cemetery of St Jude's, 444 Brighton Road, Brighton, South Australia* Original filename = P3071309.JPG
Main plaque on the granite boulder marking the grave of Sir Douglas Mawson* Original filename = P3071301.JPG
Plaque acknowledging gift of the boulder marking Sir Douglas Mawson's grave, from the Sprigg family* Original filename = P307130.JPG
Mawson Laboratories at the University of Adelaide, formerly the Department of Geology & Geophysics, now part of the School of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Named after Sir Douglas Mawson, geologist and Antarctic explorer, who taught here until his retirement in 1952.* Original filename = P2211158.JPG
