Albert Knox Dawson was born in Vincennes, Indiana, on 20 September 1885.
He was the oldest son of Thomas A.
Dawson and Lida T.
Knox.
His father was a local bank officer and real estate manager.
At an early age, Dawson began experimenting with taking pictures.
Out of his fascination with photography grew a professional career as a cameraman.
In 1912, Dawson started his photographic firm Brown & Dawson which was based in Stamford, Connecticut.
From November 1914 until February 1916, Dawson was a photographer at the European front.
His regular news pictures were distributed through Underwood & Underwood.
His documentary films were released by the American Correspondent Film Company.
Dawson contributed to the following motion pictures: The Battle and Fall of Przemysl, The Battles of A Nation, System - The Secret of Success, Friends and Foes, and The Warring Millions/Fighting Germans.
He was attached to the German, Austrian and Bulgarian armies.
Dawson was among the most active American photographers during World War I.
In 1917-1918, he was a commissioned captain at the US Signal Corps and in charge of the military photographic laboratory.
After the war, he worked in the tourist trade for the American Express Company.