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David Gordon Lyon (1852-1935)
Hollis Professor of Divinity, 1882-1910
Hancock Professor of Hebrew and other Oriental Languages, 1910-1920
David Gordon Lyon was born in Benton, Alabama, on May 24, 1852, the son
of Dr. Isaac and Caroline Arnold Lyon. He received the A.B. degree from
Howard College in 1875. He studied at the Southern Baptist Theological
Seminary, but when Toy resigned, he went to study in Germany with
Friedrich Delitzsch. He received a Ph.D. degree from Leipzig in 1882.
His appointment as Hollis Professor of Divinity in 1882 was due largely
as a result of Toy=s sponsorship. (It took some urging appointing an
Assyriologist to this position. On the other hand, the chair had been
given by a Baptist so it was appropriate for a Baptist to hold it!) He
was the first professor of Assyriology in the United States, his
appointment coming a year before Paul Haupt came to Johns Hopkins. Upon
Toy=s retirement, he was appointed Hancock Professor of Hebrew and other
Oriental Languages at the Divinity School. He conceived the idea of the
Semitic Museum, convinced Jacob Schiff to fund it, was its first curator
from 1891 until 1922, and oversaw the completion of the building in
1903. He also served as the Director of the American School for Oriental
Study and Research in Palestine, 1906-1907, and excavated at Samaria.
His works included An Assyrian Manual (1886), Harvard Excavtions at
Samaria, 1908-1910 (1924), and numerous articles in the history of
religions and in Oriental studies. He died December 4, 1935.
- Sources of information:
- Barton, George A. "David Gordon Lyon: in Memoriam." Bulletin
of the American Schools of Oriental Research v. 62 (Apr.
1936), p. 2.
"Necrology." American Journal of Archaeology, v.
40, no 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1936), p. 131.
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This online exhibit was prepared in 2000.
Copyright ©2000-2005 by the President & Fellows of Harvard College
Address corrections or comments to Clifford
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