Barbara Joan Pyrah (1943–2016) was a British

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althoug ...

, museum curator, and illustrator.

Career

From 1965–1968 Pyrah was the assistant keeper of geology at the

Manchester Museum Manchester Museum is a museum displaying works of archaeology, anthropology and natural history and is owned by the University of Manchester, in England. Sited on Oxford Road ( A34) at the heart of the university's group of neo-Gothic buildings, ...

. From 1968 to her retirement in 1988, Pyrah was the Keeper of Geology at the

Yorkshire Museum The Yorkshire Museum is a museum in York, England. It was opened in 1830, and has five permanent collections, covering biology, geology, archaeology, numismatics and astronomy. History The museum was founded by the Yorkshire Philosophical Soc ...

. During her time at the Yorkshire Museum Pyrah produced a four-part catalogue detailing the type and figured fossil specimens held in the collections. This catalogue represented over 900 specimens from approximately 150 publications. The research interest in the collections of the museum rose considerably as a result of these published catalogues. Pyrah illustrated the 1977 publication ''The Ice Age in Yorkshire''. Pyrah was a member of the organising committee of the Geological Curators' Group from 1975 to 1977. She retired from the museum due to ill-health in 1988; In retirement she was a member of the

Dunnington Dunnington is a village and civil parish in the City of York and ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. The population of the civil parish was 3,230 at the 2011 Census. The village is approximately east from York city centre. The vi ...

Art Club and a founding member of the Friends of Hagg Wood. She is listed as one of the donors to the mosaic map in

York Museum Gardens The York Museum Gardens are botanic gardens in the centre of York, England, beside the River Ouse. They cover an area of of the former grounds of St Mary's Abbey, and were created in the 1830s by the Yorkshire Philosophical Society along wit ...

Exhibitions

Pyrah organised a major exhibition at the Yorkshire Museum: 'A New Look at the Dinosaurs' was opened in April 1984 by

David Bellamy David James Bellamy (18 January 1933 – 11 December 2019) was an English botanist, television presenter, author and environmental campaigner. Early and personal life Bellamy was born in London to parents Winifred May (née Green) and Thoma ...

. The exhibition was inspired by a 1979 book of the same name by Alan J. Charig, who gave a lecture in the museum in celebration of its opening. The exhibition received a favourable review in ''

New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publish ...

'', which described it as "an exhibition of unimpeachable scholarship which provides something of interest and enjoyment at any and every age. Over 335,000 visitors saw the exhibition by the end of its year-long display.

Publications

*Pyrah, B. J. 1974.
Collections and Collectors of Note. 3. Yorkshire Museum
. ''Geological Curators Group Newsletter'' 1(2). 52–55. *Pyrah, B.1976. "Catalogue of the type and figured fossils in the Yorkshire Museum: part 1", ''Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society'' 41(1.4) *Pyrah, B.1977. "Catalogue of the type and figured fossils in the Yorkshire Museum: part 2", ''Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society'' 41(2.23) *Pyrah, B.1978. "Catalogue of the type and figured fossils in the Yorkshire Museum: part 3", ''Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society'' 41(4.32) *Pyrah, B.1979. "Catalogue of the type and figured fossils in the Yorkshire Museum: part 4", ''Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society'' 42(3.24) *Pyrah, B. J. 1981. "Edward Charlesworth and the British Natural History Society. 1: Material in the Yorkshire Museum", ''The Geological Curator'' 3(2). 88–92. *Pyrah, B. J. 1988. ''The history of the Yorkshire Museum and its geological collections''. York: The Ebor Press.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pyrah, Barbara 1943 births 2016 deaths Women geologists British curators Yorkshire Museum people Members of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society Manchester Museum people British women curators