Rawson, Donald Strathearn National Historic Person
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Portrait of Donald Strathearn Rawson
(© University of Saskatchewan, University Archives & Special Collections, Photograph Collection, A-3380 | Université de la Saskatchewan, Archives de l'université & collections spéciales, collection photographique, A-3380.)
Address :
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
2019-08-16
Life Date:
1905 to 1961
Other Name(s):
-
Donald Strathearn Rawson (1905-1961)
(Designation Name)
Research Report Number:
2019-06
Importance:
Pioneer professional limnologist in Western Canada, he performed scientific studies of inland aquatic ecosystems, including the first extensive scientific studies of the large lakes of the Northwest.
Plaque(s)
Approved Inscription:
One of the first professional limnologists in Canada, Rawson played a central role in establishing freshwater sciences in this country. At the University of Saskatchewan, where he chaired the Department of Biology (1949–1961), he studied lake ecosystems integrating insights from ecology, conservation, and fisheries. This groundbreaking work laid the foundation for the morphoedaphic index, an important scientific tool to estimate fish productivity in inland waters. His extensive scientific studies of the large lakes in the Northwest led to the opening of a lucrative commercial fishery on Great Slave Lake.