Captain William Francis Dawson (???? – 29 March 1829) was a prominent road builder in British Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka). An Engineer attached to the Royal Engineers, he was given the task of building the Colombo - Kandy Road linking Colombo and Kandy. The job took its toll on Dawson, who died before it was completed. It would be the first modern highway in the island. In the memory of Captain Dawson, the Dawson Tower was erected at Kadugannawa in the Kadugannawa Pass. Notes References 1829 deaths People of British Ceylon British colonial army officers Ceylonese military personnel Royal Engineers officers Sri Lankan people of British descent 1743 births