page_title: H. Lyman Saÿen
section_title: Early years
hierarchical_section_title: H. Lyman Saÿen / Biography / Early years
caption_attribution_description: English: Lunette by Henry Lyman Saÿen located in Room H-143 of the US Capitol
context_page_description: H. Lyman Saÿen was an American pioneer in the design of x-ray tubes who also distinguished himself as an abstract artist.
context_section_description: Saÿen was born in Philadelphia on 25 April 1875 to Edward M. Saÿen and Annie T. Saÿen (née Thomas).  Soon after graduating from Central Manual Training School in 1891, he went to work for James W. Queen & Company, a large manufacturer of scientific equipment.  He distinguished himself at the age of 18 by designing a large induction coil that was cited at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893.  In 1897 he received a patent  for a self-regulating x-ray tube.  This tube was the first of its kind to solve the problem of an unstable output caused by a drop in tube gas pressure.  At the outbreak of the Spanish–American War, he volunteered for military service and was assigned to Fort McPherson, Georgia where he was put in charge of the medical x-ray laboratory.  After contracting typhoid fever he was discharged from the army in 1898 and returned to Philadelphia where he resumed his work with James W. Queen & Company.  The following year he enrolled in the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts where he studied under Thomas Anshutz.  In 1903 he married Jeannette Hope, also a student at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.  In 1903 he was awarded a commission for the design of four lunettes to be hung in the United States Capitol.  These lunettes, titled Rule of Tyranny, Rule of Justice, Primitive Agriculture, and Good Government were installed in Room H-143 between 1904 and 1905
caption: Primitive Agriculture by Henry Lyman Saÿen located in Room H-143 of the US Capitol.  Photo courtesy of the Architect of the Capitol.
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