Reverend William Rutter Dawes (1799-1868), British astronomer. Dawes fostered an interest in astronomy from childhood, and at around 30 years of age built himself a private observatory. From there he made extensive observations of double stars. He also drew maps of the surface of Mars, providing a higher level of detail than anyone before. Although an amateur astronomer, he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1855.