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William Dixson

Sir
William Dixson
Sir William Dixson.jpg
Born (1870-04-18)18 April 1870
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Died 17 August 1952(1952-08-17) (aged 82)
Chatswood, New South Wales, Australia
Nationality Australian
Occupation Businessman, collector, benefactor

Sir William Dixson (18 April 1870 – 17 August 1952) was an Australian businessman, collector and benefactor who bequeathed his collection of over 20,000 items of Australiana to the State Library of New South Wales, forming the Dixson Library. In recognition of his public benefactions, Dixson was knighted in the New Year Honours of 1939.

Dixson was the eldest surviving son of tobacco manufacturer and philanthropist Sir Hugh Dixson. He was educated at All Saints' College in Bathurst, New South Wales and gained engineering qualifications in Scotland in 1889-96. He returned to Australia and worked for several years for the engineer and urban visionary, Norman Selfe. He is the author of a small work on the French explorers Dumont D'Urville and Lapérouse.

Dixson was a director of various businesses and public bodies, including Dixson & Sons Ltd from 1899-1903; the British-Australasian Tobacco Co. Ltd from 1903–08; the City Bank of Sydney from 1909–17; the Dixson Trust Ltd from 1909–52; and Timbrol Ltd until 1952.

Australian artist Lionel Lindsay made some etchings of Dixson based on "quick sketches" by local artist Walter Syer after a visit to the Mitchell library in June 1893.

Dixson, who began collecting books and manuscripts in the 1890s, originally focussed on Australiana. However, the collection also includes many European works considered to be "rare and valuable". Together with the earlier bequest of David Scott Mitchell the printed book collections represent the published history of Australia and especially New South Wales of the time. Collection strengths include the exploration of the Pacific, Antarctica and Australia. Also included are significant collections relating to Australian literature, theatre, art, architecture, sport, natural history, Indigenous material and biography.


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