Colonel Sir Henry George Lyons FRS (11 October 1864 – 10 August 1944) was a British

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...

and director of 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. Henry Lyons was born in London, the son of General Thomas Lyons. Lyons was educated at Wellington College and the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of Officer (armed forces), commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers o ...

and at the age of 18 was elected to the

Geological Society The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe, with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...

. In 1884, he was commissioned a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

. He was posted to Cairo in 1890. In 1892 he cleared and surveyed several

Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

ian temples at

Buhen Buhen, alternatively known as Βοὥν (Bohón) in Ancient Greek, stands as a significant ancient Egyptian settlement on the western bank of the Nile, just below the Second Cataract in present-day Northern State, Sudan. Its origins trace back t ...

. From 1909 to 1911 he was the first head of the department of geology at the University of Glasgow. In 1896, he married Helen Hardwick, a daughter of the London architect

Philip Charles Hardwick Philip Charles Hardwick (London 1822–1892) was an English architect. Life Philip Charles Hardwick was born in Westminster in London, the son of the architect Philip Hardwick (1792–1870) and grandson of architect Thomas Hardwick (junior) ...

(1822–1892). In 1920, with the retiring rank of colonel, Lyons became director of the Science Museum, and was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1926. He introduced working models, exhibited new developments such as the aeroplane, cinema, radio, and gramophone. He also contributed the children's gallery. He served as president of the Geographical Association in 1929. He died at

Great Missenden Great Missenden is a village and civil parish in the Misbourne Valley in the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England, situated between the towns of Amersham and Wendover. It adjoins the village of Little Kingshill, and is a mile from Lit ...

, aged 79.

Publications

"Magnetic Observations in Egypt, 1893—1901"
in Proceedings of the Royal Society, vol. 71, 1902–03.
"On the Relation between Variations of Atmospheric Pressure in North-East Africa and the Nile Flood"
in ''Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences'', vol. 76, no. 507, 22 April 1905.
''The Physiography of the River Nile and its Basin''
(Cairo: National Printing Department, 1906).
''A Report on the Temples of Philae''
(Cairo: National Printing Department, 1908).
''The Cadastral Survey of Egypt, 1892-1907''
(Cairo: National Printing Department, 1908).
"The Importance of Geographical Research"
in ''Science'', N.S. vol. xlii, no. 1087, 29 October 1915.
"Science in Egypt"
in ''Nature'', vol. 110, no. 2756, 26 August 1922.

References

External links

Website in memory of the Hardwicks
Sir Henry Lyons wife's family 1864 births 1944 deaths Military personnel from London British curators Businesspeople from London Directors of the Science Museum, London Fellows of the Royal Society Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Knights Bachelor People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Presidents of the Institute of Physics Presidents of the Royal Meteorological Society Royal Engineers officers British geologists Victoria Medal recipients {{UK-scientist-stub