Captain William Francis Dawson (???? – 29 March 1829) was a prominent road builder in British Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka).[1] 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.[2] It would be the first modern highway on the island. In memory of Captain Dawson, the Dawson Tower was erected at Kadugannawa in the Kadugannawa Pass.[3]