LYON, George Francis, English traveller, born in Chichester, England, in 1795; died at sea in October, 1832. He entered the British naval service in 1809, was present at the attack on Algiers by Lord Exmouth in 1816, and in 1818 was commissioned to accompany Joseph Ritchie on his tour of exploration into central Africa. Ritchie died in Fezzan, and Lyon returned to England, after encountering many dangers and privations, which he described in his "Narrative of Travels in Northern Africa" (London, 1821). In 1821, in command of the " Hecla," he accompanied Captain William E. Parry on his arctic expedition, publishing on his return " The Private Journal of Captain G. F. Lyon" (1824). In 1824 he sailed in command of the " Griper'" with the mission of exploring Melville peninsula, and following its western shore as far as Turn-again, he found, after three months' searching, a passage through the group of islets called Southampton island, but was unable to enter Repulse bay through Sir Thomas Rowe's Welcome. On 13 September, a violent tempest compelled him to return to England. The story of the voyage was told in " A Brief Narrative of an Unsuccessful Attempt" (1825). He subsequently passed several years in Mexico, and died on his return from a second visit to A-merica. His remaining works are "The SketchBook of Captain G. F. Lyon during Eighteen Months' Residence in Mexico, No. 1 " (London, 1827), and "Journal of a Residence and Tour in Mexico in 1828" (2 vols., 1828).