Thomas Dawson was an Anglican priest, rector of Bruton Parish (1743–1759), commissary of the bishop of London (1752–1759), member of the governor's Council (1753–1760), and president of the College of William and Mary (1755–1760). Born in England, Dawson traveled to Virginia in 1735 and attended the College of William and Mary, where he studied and worked. He was ordained as a deacon and priest of the Church of England by the bishop of Carlisle in 1740 and served as rector of the Bruton Parish Church. He was named commissary of the bishop of London on September 21, 1752, and was appointed to the governor's Council in 1753. In 1755 Dawson became president of the College of William and Mary. His popularity among Virginia clergymen declined in the 1750s when he neglected to formally protest the Two Penny Acts; his tenure as president of William and Mary was tainted by a power struggle between the faculty, composed of clergymen, and the board of visitors, composed of laypeople. However, Dawson remained an advocate for the education of children and African Americans throughout his life. At the end of his life, Dawson became dependent on alcohol, and in 1760 the board of visitors accused him of habitual drunkenness, infrequent attendance at college prayers, and gambling. Dawson died shortly thereafter, on November 29, 1760.
http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Dawson_Thomas_1715-1760
