Henry Dyer (23 August 1848 – 25 September 1918) was a Scottish

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

who contributed much to founding Western-style

technical education in Japan Technical education in Japan occurs at both secondary, further and tertiary education levels. The initial nine-years of education is compulsory and uniform in coursework. Secondary education Entry to Kōsen Colleges of Technology and technical hi ...

and Scottish-Japanese relations.

Early life

Henry Dyer was born on 16 August 1848, in the village of Muirmadkin (now absorbed into the town of

Bellshill Bellshill (pronounced "Bells hill") is a town in North Lanarkshire in Scotland, southeast of Glasgow city centre and west of Edinburgh. Other nearby localities are Motherwell to the south, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton to the south ...

) in the Parish of Bothwell in what is now known as

North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire ( sco, North Lanrikshire; gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Tuath) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It also ...

. Around 1865, the Dyer family moved to

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

where Henry was employed at James Aitken and Company's foundry in Cranstonhill. There he served his apprenticeship as a student engineer under Thomas Kennedy and A C Kirk. At the same time, he attended classes at Anderson's College (later to become the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

) together with

Yamao Yōzō Viscount was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period who became an influential member of the Meiji era government of Japan. Early life Yamao was born in Aio-Futajima, a village in Chōshū domain (present day Yamaguchi prefecture), and receiv ...

. Dyer studied engineering education at

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

from 1868 under Professor

William Rankine William John Macquorn Rankine (; 5 July 1820 – 24 December 1872) was a Scottish mechanical engineer who also contributed to civil engineering, physics and mathematics. He was a founding contributor, with Rudolf Clausius and William Thomson ( ...

, who was eager to establish the faculty of engineering. He was the first Scot to win the Whitworth scholarship awarded in 1868, which was for the further instruction of young men gifted in the practice and theory of mechanics. Henry Dyer graduated from Glasgow University in 1873 with a "certificate in proficiency in engineering", the forerunner of the BSc in Engineering, from the Engineering department.

Japan (1873–1882)

Dyer is principally remembered in Japan for his contributions to curriculum development for the

Imperial College of Engineering The Imperial College of Engineering (工部大学校, ''Kōbudaigakkō'') was a Japanese institution of higher education that was founded during the Meiji Era. The college was established under the auspices of the Ministry of Public Works for ...

an engineering institution under the Public Works (Kobu Sho) of the

Meiji Japan The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization by ...

aimed at creating young Japanese engineers of various industrial fields to achieve rapid modernization. Through an initiative in 1872 led by Yozo Yamao, the Meiji government sought teaching staff for a newly established engineering school. Hugh Matheson, a contact of Yamao, consulted with

Lewis Gordon Lewis Ricardo Gordon (born May 12, 1962) is an American philosopher at the University of Connecticut who works in the areas of Africana philosophy, existentialism, phenomenology, social and political theory, postcolonial thought, theories of ...

, and

William John Macquorn Rankine William John Macquorn Rankine (; 5 July 1820 – 24 December 1872) was a Scottish mechanical engineer who also contributed to civil engineering, physics and mathematics. He was a founding contributor, with Rudolf Clausius and William Thomson ( ...

. Rankine arranged for teaching staff led by Dyer as Principal and Professor of Engineering, and advised

Itō Hirobumi was a Japanese politician and statesman who served as the first Prime Minister of Japan. He was also a leading member of the ''genrō'', a group of senior statesmen that dictated Japanese policy during the Meiji era. A London-educated samur ...

, who was at that time the vice Ambassador of the

Iwakura Mission The Iwakura Mission or Iwakura Embassy (, ''Iwakura Shisetsudan'') was a Japanese diplomatic voyage to the United States and Europe conducted between 1871 and 1873 by leading statesmen and scholars of the Meiji period. It was not the only such m ...

. The Engineering Institution aimed at creating young Japanese engineers who take responsibility for rapid industrialization. Dyer designed a six year academic curriculum consisting of basic (general and science subjects), professional (technical subjects) and practical courses of two years in duration for six departments. The ICE programme was a revised version of the

Royal Indian Engineering College The Royal Indian Engineering College (or RIEC) was a British college of Civil Engineering run by the India Office to train civil engineers for service in the Indian Public Works Department. It was located on the Cooper's Hill estate, near Egham, ...

curriculum adapted to Japan's specific scientific and technical needs. To provide practical training, Dyer helped set up the

Akabane Engineering Works Akabane may refer to: *Akabane virus * Akabane, a neighborhood in Kita, Tokyo *Akabane Station, a railway station in Kita, Tokyo, Japan *Akabane Line Akabane may refer to: *Akabane virus * Akabane, a neighborhood in Kita, Tokyo *Akabane Station ...

, the largest in the

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent fo ...

. Many of the major engineering works carried out in Japan at the end of the 19th century were by his former students, and Dyer also sent many to Glasgow to complete their education. When he left the ICE in 1882, Dyer was made Honorary Principal and

Emperor Meiji , also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figur ...

awarded him the Third Class of the

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight ...

, the highest Japanese honour available to foreigners. He had established a progressive system of engineering education in Tokyo and greatly contributed to the progress Japan made as an industrial power. Returning from Japan, Henry Dyer brought back various Japanese artifacts and art works, some of which were later donated by his descendants to the

Mitchell Library The Mitchell Library is a large public library and centre of the City Council public library system of Glasgow, Scotland. History The library, based in the Charing Cross district, was initially established in Ingram Street in 1877 following a ...

, Glasgow and Edinburgh Central Library. Included in the bequest to Edinburgh Central Library donated by Dyer's daughter Marie Ferguson Dyer, is the painted handscroll Theatres of the East by the Japanese artist

Furuyama Moromasa __NOTOC__ Furuyama Moromasa (Japanese: 古山師政, act. ca. 1695-1748) was a Japanese ukiyo-e painter and print artist, active during the 18th century. Life and works Few details of his life have survived. He was born in Edo (Tokyo), the son of ...

, loose Japanese woodblock prints, bound woodblock printed volumes, bound volumes of paintings, and a collection of nineteenth century Japanese photographs attributed to Franz von Stillfried-Ratenicz.

Scotland (1882–1918)

Henry Dyer went back to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and in 1886 became a life governor of the

Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

(previously Anderson's College, where he had been a student, and later to become the

, and governor of the Glasgow and

West of Scotland Agricultural College Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) is a public land based research institution focused on agriculture and life sciences. Its history stretches back to 1899 with the establishment of the West of Scotland Agricultural College and its current organi ...

. He became a member of the Glasgow School Board in 1891 and was its president from 1914 until his death. Dyer represented a tireless pro-Japanese lobby within Scotland. He assisted Japanese students, engineers and trainee managers and had a staunch ally in Captain A R Brown of the company Brown, McFarlane who had been responsible for taking the first Clyde-built ships to Japan. Dyer worked as an unofficial liaison officer for the Japanese Government in Glasgow and thanks to his efforts

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

Court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...

permitted

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

as a language for entry in 1901. In the same year Professors Jōji Sakurai and

Isao Iijima is a masculine Japanese given name which was popular during the Shōwa period. Possible writings Isao can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *功, "achievement" *勲, "meritorious" *績, "exploits" *公, "public" *勇男 ...

of the

Tokyo Imperial University , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

were awarded honorary degrees during the University’s Ninth Jubilee celebrations. The University of Strathclyde's Henry Dyer Building, home to the Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, was named after him. In 2015 he was inducted into the

Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame The Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame honours "those engineers from, or closely associated with, Scotland who have achieved, or deserve to achieve, greatness", as selected by an independent panel representing Scottish engineering institutions, aca ...

Family

Married 23 May 1874, Marie Euphemia Aqaurt Ferguson, eldest daughter of Duncan Ferguson of Glasgow at the British Legation in Yokohama, Japan.

Publications

* ''The Evolution of Industry'' (1895) * ''Dai Nippon: The Britain of the East'' (1904) * ''Japan in World Politics'' (1909) * (in 5 volumes)

References

* * * * Available as an ebook or paperback from Amazon.

External sources

* - a detailed and informative site. * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dyer, Henry 1848 births 1918 deaths Alumni of the University of Glasgow Foreign advisors to the government in Meiji-period Japan Foreign educators in Japan Scottish engineers Scottish expatriates in Japan People from North Lanarkshire Academic staff of the University of Tokyo Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun Alumni of the University of Strathclyde Academics of the University of Strathclyde Scottish educators Japanese diplomats Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame inductees