The Executive Committee of the Geology Day Commemorative Project, co-organized by the Hokkaido University Museum, will hold the “Commemorative Lecture for the 150th Anniversary of Lyman’s Arrival in Japan and Geology Day in 2023” on May 27.

Benjamin Smith Lyman (1835-1920) was one of the hired Americans invited by the Hokkaido Development Commissioner to develop Hokkaido in the early Meiji era. He was engaged in research of geological and underground resources, and trained excellent mining engineers and made many contributions including coal mines to the development of mining and geology in Japan, especially in Hokkaido.

On May 10, 1876, Lyman and his colleagues produced the first broad-scale geological map of Japan, “Nihon ezo chishitsu yoryaku no zu” (The Geological Survey of Japan).　And on May 10, 1878, the Geology Division of the Geographical Bureau of the Ministry of Home Affairs, an organization handling geological surveys, was established. As a result, May 10 was designated as “Geology Day” in 2007.

For more information about the commemorative lecture, please click here. *Go to the website of the Hokkaido University Museum.