George Dawson (1821–76)

Preacher and political activist. MA, Glasgow University, 1841. Pastor, Church of the Saviour, Birmingham, 1848–76. A popular lecturer in Birmingham and Manchester, and a friend of many continental radicals. Editor of the Birmingham Mercury, 1848; Daily Free Press, 1855; Birmingham Morning News, 1871. Promoter of the public library movement. Supporter of Lawson Tait, whom he employed as a writer on the Birmingham Morning News.