Benjamin Smith Lyman, Geologist

U.S. 10¢ green George Washington, 1861 Issue, Scott #68, on August 14, 1863 international cover from Boston to Little Glace Bay, Cape Breton. Addressed to Mr. Benjamin S. Lyman, Little Glace Bay P.O., Cape Breton. Care of E.P. Archibald Esq. Manuscript "A(nswered) 20 Sept. 1963" on front would be in Lyman's hand. Black cork cancel with red circle "BOSTON MASS, AUG 14" and red oval "10 CENTS PAID". Backstamps AMHERST AU 17 1863, ANTIGONISH AU 20 1863, AND SYDNEY AU 22 1863 5.

Benjamin Smith Lyman (1835–1920), one of the most accomplished mining geologists of the 19th century, was born in Northampton, Massachusetts in 1835. He graduated from Harvard in 1855 and studied mining engineering in Paris and Freiberg, Germany from 1859–1862. He returned to North America in 1862 and soon became surveyor of the coal fields of Cape Breton Island and Nova Scotia.

Benjamin Smith Lyman

In 1863, the Glace Bay Mining Company was rapidly developing the coal mines at Little Glace Bay under E. P. Archbold, whose name appears on the cover as the forwarding contact ("Care of E. P. Archbold Esq."). Historical accounts describe Archbold's mining operations and the major expansion of the harbor and mines during exactly this period.

Lyman was employed to conduct geological and mining surveys of the Cape Breton coal field. His work involved mapping coal seams, measuring mine workings, preparing geological reports, and advising mining companies on the extent and quality of coal deposits.

There are numerous letters written by Banjamin Lyman from "Cow Bay, C.B." preserved in "Benjamin Smith Lyman papers, 1831-1921 (bulk 1851-1915)" U. Mass Amherst,

Lyman went on to have an international reputation, working on geological surveys in Pennsylvania and Iowa, and serving briefly as a geologist for the Public Works Department in India. In 1873 he was appointed General Geologist and Mining Engineer to the Japanese government during the early Meiji era, where he produced the first modern geological and topographic surveys of Hokkaido and introduced modern mining methods.

Lyman was an early advocate of vegetarianism. An interesting review of his life appeared in 2024 in the Harvard Magazine

Harvard Magazine