Sir William Boyd Dawkins FRS FSA FGS (26 December 1837 – 15 January 1929) was a British geologist and archaeologist.

On leaving Oxford University in 1862, he joined the Geological Survey of Great Britain where he spent seven years working on the areas of Kent and the Thames Valley.

On hearing of the discovery of bones by local workmen he led excavations in the area of the hyena den at Wookey Hole Caves.

At Windy Knoll (NGR SK126830), he proved the existence of exotic animals that lived in England prior to the ice ages.

[3] He made a geological survey of the English and French coasts along the Dover and Calais areas, however the project was abandoned due to lack of money.

In 1886, the South Eastern Railway Company approached Dawkins asking him if his Channel Tunnel work had shown any coal under Kent.

Together with Henry Willett and the French geologist Pigou, Dawkins presented a paper in 1887 proving the existence of coal under the Cretaceous deposits of Kent.

Later in life he fought for compensation for people whose homes had been affected by subsidence from the salt mines and workings near Northwich, Cheshire.

These books, together with other personal items such as a bronze bust, photographs and his Lyell and Prestwich medals, are housed at Buxton Museum and Art Gallery in the Boyd Dawkins Reference Room.