Dawson, Elmer Yale, 1918-1966

Biographical History

E. Yale Dawson (1918-1966) came to the Smithsonian Institution in 1965 to accept the newly established position of Curator of Cryptogamic Botany in the National Museum of Natural History. Dawson received his A.B. degree in 1940 from the University of California, and two years later he received his Ph.D. degree from the same institution. After a term of service in the United States Army, Dawson was a Research Associate at the Allan Hancock Foundation, University of Southern California (USC), from 1945 to 1955. In 1956 he was appointed Professor of Biology at USC, a position which he held with some interruptions, until 1964. From 1958 to 1962, he served as Research Director of the Beaudette Foundation for Biological Research; in 1964 he was Director of the San Diego Natural History Museum; and from 1964 until his death he served as Secretary of the Americas for the Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galapagos Islands. Dawson's research specialties included benthic marine algae, especially Rhodophyta of the tropical and subtropical Pacific, and Cactaceae. He published numerous books and papers on marine algae, cacti, and succulents. On June 22, 1966, Dawson drowned while diving for seaweed in the Red Sea

Related entities

• San Diego Natural History Museum: He was Director of the San Diego Natural History Museum.
• Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galápagos Isles: From 1964 until his death he served as Secretary of the Americas for the Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galapagos Islands.

Birth Date

1918

Death Date

1966

Topic

Botany

Form/Genre

Personal name

Occupation

Botanists