James Buckland Mawdsley was born on July 22, 1894 in Italy, to British-American parents. In 1904, the family left Italy and settled in Gainsborough, Saskatchewan. He entered McGill University in 1913, but in 1915 joined the 1st University Company reinforcing the Princess Patricia Light Infantry. In 1916, he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps. He was awarded an MBE at the end of the war, returned to his studies at McGill and, in 1921, earned a degree in Mining Engineering. In 1924, he earned a PhD in geology from Princeton. He joined the University of Saskatchewan in 1929, as professor and Head of the Geology Department, a position he held until 1961, when he was named Dean of Engineering. He resigned as Dean in 1963 to devote more time to the Institute of Northern Studies, of which he had been appointed Director in 1961. He died suddenly on December 4, 1964.