Lyons Crescent

Edmund Lyon

Lyons Crescent, located in front of the NTID complex, is named for Edmund Lyon. Mr. Lyon (1855-1920) was a noted manufacturer, inventor, humanitarian, and philanthropist in Rochester, New York. Mr. Lyon graduated with honors from the University of Rochester in 1877 and received his law degree from Columbia University in 1880. After practicing law for a short time, Edmund Lyon turned his attention to business, travel, and philanthropic endeavors, devoting himself passionately to education, most notably the education of deaf persons.

He served on the RIT Board of Directors from 1905-1920, part of that time as Treasurer. Mr. Lyon and his family were long associated with the Rochester School for the Deaf, where he served as a trustee and also as President of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf.  In 1893, he accompanied Helen Keller and her teacher on a day trip to Niagara Falls.

In 1980, the daughters of Edmund Lyon established the Edmund Lyon Memorial Lectureship. The purpose of this lectureship series is to bring distinguished speakers to the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID), one of the nine colleges of Rochester Institute of Technology. In the past, speakers have included distinguished deaf persons who have excelled in their careers with hearing colleagues in science, business, technology, industry, arts, or public service and who stand as models to the faculty and students of NTID for their career attainments. A current goal of the lectureship series is to bring in speakers whose expertise and scholarly contributions stand on the cutting edge of advancement in the education and career success of deaf persons.