William H. Mathews was born in Vancouver in 1919 and attended UBC from 1935 to 1941, obtaining a Bachelor of Applied Science in geological engineering. A Master of Applied Science followed up this degree at UBC with a major in petrology and physics. Mathews received many awards during his studies: the GM Dawson scholarship in 1939; the Walter Moberly book prize in 1940; and the BC Academy of Science research grant in 1941. His experience includes working as a student assistant for the Geologic Survey of Canada (1938-1941) and the BC Department of Mines as an Associate Mining Engineer (1942-1946). Mathews then taught and completed a Ph.D. at the University of California in 1948, which focused on volcanism and glacial history in southwestern BC. He joined the Department of Geology at UBC in 1951 and headed the department from 1964 -1971. Mathews continued teaching and researching at UBC until he retired in 1984 and became a Professor Emeritus. Throughout his lifetime, Mathews was actively involved as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the Geologic Society of America; a member of the American Geophysical Union, the Geological Association of Canada, the British Glaciological Society, the Arctic Institute of North America, Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi, the Alpine Club of Canada, and the Natural History Society of British Columbia. Mathews passed away in 2003 and will be remembered for his work as a geologist, professional engineer, and scholar.