Old Photograph Lyon Playfair Edinburgh Scotland

Old photograph of Lyon Playfair in Edinburgh, Scotland. Lyon, born 1st of May 1818, died 29th of May 1898, was a Scottish scientist and Liberal politician. He was born at Chunar, Bengal, the son of George Playfair, Inspector General of Hospitals in that region, and Janet, daughter of John Ross. He was named after his uncle, Sir Hugh Lyon Playfair, and was educated at the University of St Andrews, the Andersonian Institute in Glasgow, and the University of Edinburgh. After going to Calcutta at the end of 1837, he became private laboratory assistant to Thomas Graham at University College, London, and in 1839 went to work under Justus Liebig at the University of Giessen. In 1868, Playfair was elected Liberal Member of Parliament for the Universities of Edinburgh and St Andrews, being sworn of the Privy Council and made Postmaster General in Gladstone's government in 1873. He left the House of Commons in 1892 and was ennobled as Baron Playfair, of St Andrews in the County of Fife.

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