R. W. Dobson (fl. c. 1870 – 1888) was an English lithographer, surveyor, and civil engineer active in and around Chicago in the second half of the 19th century. Dobson immigrated to the United States with John D. Riley, a distant relative from Lancashire England. Dobson produced several maps of Chicago and is known to have surveyed and platted much of South Chicago, where he lived. He did extensive surveys for the City of Chicago as well as for the town of Lake. We have been able to discover little else of his life.