Alfred William Lawson (March 24, 1869 – November 29, 1954) was an English-born professional baseball player, aviator, and utopian philosopher.

Lawson is frequently cited as the inventor of the airliner and received several of the first air mail contracts, which he ultimately did not fulfill.

[1] The crash of his ambitious Lawson L-4 "Midnight Liner" during its trial flight takeoff on May 8, 1921, ended his best chance for commercial aviation success.

He also advocated for a strong American flying force, lobbying Congress in 1913 to expand its appropriations for Army aircraft.

He also designed the steel fuselage Lawson Armored Battler, which never got beyond the drafting board, given doubts within the Army aviation community and the signing of the armistice.

[6] In this phase of his life, he was considered one of the leading thinkers in the budding American commercial aviation community; however, his inability to secure financial backing for his ideas led him to turn to economics, philosophy, and organization.

[8] His rallies and lectures attracted thousands of listeners in the early 1930s, mainly in the upper Midwest, but by the late 1930s the crowds had dwindled.

In 1952, he testified before a United States Senate investigative committee on allegations that his organization had bought war surplus machines and then sold them for a profit despite claiming non-profit status.

[3][13] A farm near Racine, Wisconsin, is the only remaining university facility, although a tiny handful of churches may yet survive in places such as Wichita, Kansas.

The large sign, formerly reading "University of Lawsonomy", was a familiar landmark for motorists in the region for many years and was visible from Interstate 94 about 13 miles (21 km) north of the Illinois state line, on the east side of the highway.

On the northbound side of Interstate 94, a sign on the roof of the building nearest the freeway said "Study Natural Law" until being shingled over in October 2014.