William Dixson

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. Life and education 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 to 1903; the British-Australasian Tobacco Co. Ltd from 1903 to 1908; the City Bank of Sydney from 1909 to 1917; the Dixson Trust Ltd from 1909 to 1952; 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.