Sir William Edmond Logan, FRSE FRS FGS (20 April 1798 – 22 June 1875), was a Canadian-born geologist and the founder and first director of the Geological Survey of Canada.

As was common at the time for young men of means, he learned several languages (French, Spanish, some Gaelic and German), music (flute), and became an accomplished artist.

With the accepted belief that North America's destiny lay in applying industrial technology to rich natural resources, the search for coal became the Survey's first priority.

[2] In addition to Logan's skills at geological observation and surviving in the wilds, he was an adept manager; during the 1850s he built up the staff of the GSC, adding a paleontologist, a chemist, more geologists, and a museum technician, amongst others.

By the late 1850s, Logan had built the GSC into a well-rounded organization capable of conducting rigorous exploration, making maps, analyzing and identifying mineral and fossil specimens, producing reports, and maintaining a public museum.

The 1850s saw the beginning of the great international expositions, and Logan was a talented promoter of Canada's mineral resources abroad, starting with the Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations, the 1851 world fair at the Crystal Palace in London, England.

Canada's participation in these high-profile events stimulated international interest in Canadian minerals and brought personal honours to Logan.

On a scale of 1 inch to 25 miles, it showed the geology and geography of southeastern Canada as far west as Manitoba and as far north as lakes St. John, Timiskaming, Nipigon, and St. Joseph.

In 1864, a smaller scale version of this same map (1 inch to 125 miles) had been printed in atlas form, making it the first comprehensive illustration of the geology of what is now the southern part of Ontario and Quebec.