William Dawson LeSueur

Who was William Dawson LeSueur?

William Dawson LeSueur was a Canadian civil servant and author.

Born in Quebec City, the son of Peter LeSueur and Barbara Dawson, LeSueur studied Latin and Greek at the High School of Montreal. In 1856, he joined the provincial Post Office Department after moving to Toronto. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1863 from the University of Toronto and studied law for a bit at Osgoode Hall but never graduated. He continued to work as a clerk for the post office eventually becoming chief secretary in 1888. He retired in 1902.

A writer, LeSueur published over 80 articles on a wide variety of topics. He was a freelance journalist for the Montreal Daily Star, the Montreal Gazette, and the Ottawa Citizen.

In 1906, he published a biography of Louis de Buade de Frontenac. He then wrote about William Lyon Mackenzie, one of the first truly critical biographies written in Canada. However, Mackenzie’s grandson William Lyon Mackenzie King succeeded in not having it published and it wasn't until 1979.

In 1903, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and served as its president from 1912 to 1913. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Queen's College in 1900.