John Griffiths (15 June 1952 – 9 April 2010) was a Welsh museum

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

at the

Science Museum A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, Industry (manufacturing), industry and Outline of industrial ...

in London, England.John Becklake, "Obituary: John Griffiths". ''Life after the Museum'', No 25, page 21, Autumn 2010. Griffiths spent his childhood in the village of

Ystradgynlais Ystradgynlais (; ) is a town in southwest Powys, Wales. It is located on the River Tawe, and was within the boundaries of the former county of Brecknockshire. The town has a high proportion of Welsh language-speakers. The community includes C ...

near

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

, south Wales. He studied for a doctorate in

astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline, James Keeler, said, astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the ...

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

, working on a variable star in

Cassiopeia Cassiopeia or Cassiopea may refer to: Greek mythology * Cassiopeia (mother of Andromeda), queen of Aethiopia and mother of Andromeda * Cassiopeia (wife of Phoenix), wife of Phoenix, king of Phoenicia * Cassiopeia, wife of Epaphus, king of Egy ...

and in

infrared astronomy Infrared astronomy is a sub-discipline of astronomy which specializes in the astronomical observation, observation and analysis of astronomical objects using infrared (IR) radiation. The wavelength of infrared light ranges from 0.75 to 300 microm ...

, receiving his PhD in 1977. John Griffiths joined the London Science Museum in 1979. He was involved in several significant gallery projects and was a curator of space technology and modern production technology at the museum. In particular, he worked on the Space Exploration gallery that opened in 1986. From 1987 to 1991, he was Head of the Special Projects Group and during 1991 to 1995 he was responsible for the installation of a new collections management system as part of the LASSI consortium. In 1995, Griffiths co-organised a meeting at the Science Museum on ''Museum Collections and the Information Superhighway'' in the early days of web development. In the late 1990s, Griffiths was the curator of the printing and protective clothing collections. He was also involved in creating content for the museum's website. Griffiths left the Science Museum in 2003 and then taught

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

at the

Royal Greenwich Observatory The Royal Observatory, Greenwich (ROG; known as the Old Royal Observatory from 1957 to 1998, when the working Royal Greenwich Observatory, RGO, temporarily moved south from Greenwich to Herstmonceux) is an observatory situated on a hill in G ...

. He lived for part of the time in El Bosque, Cádiz, southern Spain, where he set up the Griffon Educational ObservatoryThe Griffon Educational Observatory
with Andy Burns and Griffith's wife, Kathy. Griffiths died in Spain, aged 57.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffiths, John 1952 births 2010 deaths People from Powys Alumni of University College London People associated with the Science Museum, London Welsh astronomers Welsh curators Welsh physicists People from Ystradgynlais