Memorable Manitobans: Peyton Vaughan Lyon (1921-2011)

Political scientist, educator.

Born at Winnipeg on 2 October 1921, son of Silas Herbert Redmond Lyon and Fredrica Iveagh Lee (?-?), he attended Kelvin High School and United College until 1940 when he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and served as a Flight Lieutenant and Observer. Following his military discharge, he entered the University of Manitoba where he was President of the Students’ Union (1947) and, as Vice-President for Western Canada of the University Liberal Federation, attended the 1948 Liberal convention in Ottawa where a successor to Mackenzie King was selected. He was Manitoba’s Rhodes Scholar for 1949 and received a doctoral degree at Oxford. He entered the Foreign Service and served as a diplomat in West Germany before returning to Canada. In 1959, he accepted a professorship in Political Science at the University of Western Ontario, moving in 1965 to Carleton University. He wrote a series of books, book chapters, and articles on Canadian foreign policy and Canada-US relations, especially relating to free trade, Europe, and NATO. In 1943, he married Frances Hazleton (?-1981) with whom he had three children. After retirement in 1987, he wrote a memoir of his wartime experiences entitled How Peyton Won the War. He died at Ottawa, Ontario on 24 March 2011.

Sources:

“Peyton Lyon,” Winnipeg Free Press, 15 February 1947, page 3.

“Peyton Lyon wins Rhodes scholarship,” Winnipeg Free Press, 29 November 1948, page 3.

Obituary [Herbert Redmond Lyon], Winnipeg Free Press, 24 January 1969, page 31.

Obituary, Ottawa Citizen.

Life and times of a great Canadian: Peyton V. Lyon, 1921-2011” by Douglas G. Anglin, 23 April 2011.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 29 April 2020

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations.

Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text:

Custom Search

Browse surnames beginning with:
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z

Browse deaths occurring in:
1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024


Send corrections and additions to this page
to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.ca

Criteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements

Help us keep
history alive!