John Griffiths (15 June 1952 – 9 April 2010) was a Welsh museum

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

at the

Science Museum A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in mu ...

in London, England.John Becklake, "Obituary: John Griffiths". ''Life after the Museum'', No 25, page 21, Autumn 2010. Griffiths spent his childhood in the village of

Ystradgynlais Ystradgynlais (, ) is a town on the River Tawe in southwest Powys, Wales. It is the second-largest town in Powys and is in the historic county of Brecknockshire. The town has a high proportion of Welsh language-speakers. The community includes ...

near

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

Powys Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...

, south Wales. He studied for a doctorate in

astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the h ...

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, working on a variable star in Cassiopeia and in

infrared astronomy Infrared astronomy is a sub-discipline of astronomy which specializes in the observation and analysis of astronomical objects using infrared (IR) radiation. The wavelength of infrared light ranges from 0.75 to 300 micrometers, and falls in betwee ...

, receiving his PhD in 1977. John Griffiths joined the London Science Museum in 1979. He was involved in several significant gallery projects and was a curator of space technology and modern production technology at the museum. In particular, he worked on the Space Exploration gallery that opened in 1986. From 1987 to 1991, he was Head of the Special Projects Group and during 1991 to 1995 he was responsible for the installation of a new collections management system as part of the LASSI consortium. In 1995, Griffiths co-organised a meeting at the Science Museum on ''Museum Collections and the Information Superhighway'' in the early days of web development. In the late 1990s, Griffiths was the curator of the printing and protective clothing collections. He was also involved in creating content for the museum's website. Griffiths left the Science Museum in 2003 and then taught

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

at the

Royal Greenwich Observatory The Royal Observatory, Greenwich (ROG; known as the Old Royal Observatory from 1957 to 1998, when the working Royal Greenwich Observatory, RGO, temporarily moved south from Greenwich to Herstmonceux) is an observatory situated on a hill in G ...

. He lived for part of the time in

El Bosque, Cádiz El Bosque is a town and municipality located in the province of Cádiz, Spain. According to the 2005 census, the city has a population of 2,004 inhabitants. Demographics Gallery Image:El Bosque Lomo de Enmedio.JPG, El Bosque from "Lomo de Enm ...

, southern Spain, where he set up the Griffon Educational ObservatoryThe Griffon Educational Observatory
with Andy Burns and Griffith's wife, Kathy. Griffiths died in Spain, aged 57.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffiths, John 1952 births 2010 deaths People from Powys Alumni of University College London People associated with the Science Museum, London Welsh astronomers Welsh curators Welsh physicists