Lawson, Andrew C. (Andrew Cowper), 1861-1952

Biographical Information

Andrew Cowper Lawson, geologist and professor, was born in Anstruther, Scotland, July 25, 1861, moving to Hamilton, Ontario when he was five. Graduating from the University of Toronto in 1883, he worked with the Canadian Geological Survey and continued his education, receiving a Masters in 1885. In 1888 he received a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University.

He continued work with the Canadian Geological Survey in the Lake Superior area after graduation, but early in 1890 he resigned and moved to Vancouver as a consulting geologist for the Canadian Pacific Railroad. In October, 1890, he accepted an invitation from Professor Joseph LeConte to become an Assistant Professor of Mineralogy and Geology at the University of California where he remained throughout his career. Lawson succeeded LeConte as department chair upon LeConte's death in 1901.

During his tenure at Berkeley, he observed, mapped and interpreted Coast Range geology, and organized systematized courses of instruction in mineralogy, petrography, and field geology. His was the first field geology course at any university in the country. In 1893, he established the first scientific publication series at Berkeley, The Bulletin of the Department of Geology and served as its editor for thirty-five years.

Lawson was also heavily involved in the promotion of the study of seismology, serving as the chairman of the State Earthquake Investigation Commission, appointed by Governor George C. Pardee after the devastating San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 and serving as the first Vice- President of the Seismological Society of America (founded in 1906).

Lawson married Ludovika von Jansch of Brünn, Moravia in 1889. They had four sons. After her death in 1929, he married Isabel R. Collins of Ottawa in 1931. They had one son. He died June 16, 1952.