Mawson was born in Shipley, West Yorkshire on 5 May 1882. When he was only two years old, his family immigrated to Australia and settled in Rooty Hill, New South Wales. He went to Fort Street Model School. Then he studied at the University of Sydney, where he graduated in 1902 with a Bachelor of Engineering. Mawson spent his life on Antarctic expeditions and academic work. He died in Brighton, South Australia on 14 October 1958.