LYMAN, Benjamin Smith, mining engineer, born in Northampton, Massachusetts, 11 December, 1885. He was graduated at Harvard in 1855, after which he was assistant on the Iowa state geological survey, and then studied at the Ecole des mines in Paris in 1859-'61, and at the Freiberg mining-school in 1861-'2. after which he resumed the practice of his profess{on in the United States and British America. In 1870 he made a survey of the oil lands in the Punjaub for the government of India. In l 1873-'5 he was chief geologist and mining engineer of the geological survey of Hokkaido in Japan, and m 1876-'7 of the oil lands of Japan, finally filling a similar office on the geological survey of Japan in 1878-'9. It is said of him that "he has surveyed and described in printed reports a large part of the Japanese empire, and knows more about it than any other living white man." At the end of 1880 he left Japan, and went to live in Northampton, Massachusetts, where he has since held several offices in the local government. In 1887 he joined the corps of the geological survey of Pennsylvania, with headquarters in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Mr. Lyman has introduced several improved forms of surveying instruments such as the topographer's transit, level rod notation, mine stadia, solar transit, and the use of equidistant curves, or contour-lines, for mapping the structure of rock-beds. He is a member of scientific societies, and has published about one hundred professional papers. Among them the more important are "General Report on the Punjaub Oil Lands" (Lahore, 1878) ; "Preliminary Report on the First Season's Work of the Geological Survey of Yesso" (Tokio, 1874); " A Geological Trip through and around Yesso in 1874, and Four other Reports" (1875) ; "Report of Progress of the Yesso Geological Surveys for 1875, and Seven Coal Survey Reports" (1877); "A General Report on the Geology of Yesso" (1877) ; "A Report of Progress for the First Year of the Oil Surveys" (1877) ; "Report on the Second Year's Progress of the Survey of the Oil Lands of Japan" (1878); "Geological Survey of Japan; Reports of Progress for 1878 and 1879 " (1879) ; also sixteen maps of surveys in Japan, and "Logarithms of Numbers, Sines, and Cosines" (Northampton, 1885).

LYMAN, Chester Smith, educator, born in Manchester, Connecticut, 13 January, 1814. He early showed a fondness for astronomy and acquired a knowledge of that and kindred sciences without a teacher, constructing, while yet a boy, various astronomical and optical apparatus. In 1829 he computed almanacs for the two following years, and also the eclipses of the next fifteen years. He was graduated at Yale in 1837, after which he was head teacher of the school in Ellington, Connecticut, and then studied at Union theological seminary in New York and at Yale theological seminary during 1839-'42. In 1843-'5 he was settled as pastor over the 1st Congregational church in New Britain, Connecticut. but failing health compelled him to relinquish this charge, and he spent several years in travel. In 1846-'7 he visited the Hawaiian islands, where for a time he had charge of the Royal school at Honolulu, and explored the volcano Kilauea. He then spent three years in California as a surveyor, being one of the first to send to the eastern states authentic accounts of the discovery of gold on the Pacific coast. He then returned to New Haven, where he at first was occupied in the revision of Webster's Dictionary, having charge of the scientific terms in the edition of 1864. In 1858 he became associated in the development of the scientific department of Yale (now the Sheffield scientific school), and was assigned to the chair of industrial mechanics and physics, which he held till 1871. He then was made professor of astronomy and physics, and so continued until 1884, and has since had charge of astronomy only. His special work has included the invention of the combined zenith telescope and transit for latitude, longitude, and time, which was designed and mainly constructed in 1852, and in 1867 he invented and patented an apparatus for illustrating the dynamics of ocean waves. About 1871 he constructed an apparatus for describing acoustic curves, also making improvements in clock escapement, compensating pendulums, and similar apparatus. Professor Lyman was the first to observe the planet Venus as a delicate luminous ring when seen in close proximity to the sun near inferior conjunction. He is a member of various scientific societies, was president of the Connecticut academy of arts and sciences during 1857-'77, and is also an honorary member of the British association for the advancement of science. His writings have been confined to scientific papers, which have appeared principally in the "American Journal of Science " and in "The New Englander."