Social Reformer. While working on a farm during Reconstruction he and another boy taught themselves by reading from textbooks and quizzing each other as they performed their chores. Their method was so successful Lyons was able to enroll in and graduate from high school at Augusta Institute. He then attended Atlanta Baptist College, paying his way with money he earned by teaching African-American women who attended night school. After working for the Internal Revenue Service he attended Howard University Law School, from which he received his law degree in 1884. Lyons was admitted to the bar the same year, becoming Georgia's first African-American attorney. A distinguished orator, he became a leader of Georgia's Republican Party, attending several state and national conventions and also serving as a member of the Republican National Committee. In 1898 he became one of America's highest ranking African-American government leaders when he was appointed Registrar of the Treasury, the official responsible for authenticating currency, bonds and treasury notes. He served until 1906, afterwards becoming President of Augusta's Haines Normal and Industrial Institute, a high school for African Americans which produced several famous faculty members and graduates.

Social Reformer. While working on a farm during Reconstruction he and another boy taught themselves by reading from textbooks and quizzing each other as they performed their chores. Their method was so successful Lyons was able to enroll in and graduate from high school at Augusta Institute. He then attended Atlanta Baptist College, paying his way with money he earned by teaching African-American women who attended night school. After working for the Internal Revenue Service he attended Howard University Law School, from which he received his law degree in 1884. Lyons was admitted to the bar the same year, becoming Georgia's first African-American attorney. A distinguished orator, he became a leader of Georgia's Republican Party, attending several state and national conventions and also serving as a member of the Republican National Committee. In 1898 he became one of America's highest ranking African-American government leaders when he was appointed Registrar of the Treasury, the official responsible for authenticating currency, bonds and treasury notes. He served until 1906, afterwards becoming President of Augusta's Haines Normal and Industrial Institute, a high school for African Americans which produced several famous faculty members and graduates.

Bio by: Bill McKern