A.V. Lane
Dr.
Alvin Valentine Lane (1860--1938) was a prominent Dallas banker, scholar, and
civic benefactor. Raised in New Orleans, he received his doctorate in Civil
Engineering from Vanderbilt University in 1882. Joining the faculty of the new
University of Texas in 1883, he soon turned to business and co-founded in 1888
what became the First National Bank in Dallas, where he served as vice-president
as of 1896. He was a prominent member in several banking associations, and
served his community as treasurer of the Dallas Chamber of Commerce, as director
of both the Dallas Public Library and Museum of Fine Arts, and as supporter of
the Dallas Symphony and Historical Society. He also received the highest
distinction in the order of Masons, was a trustee of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, South, and in 1931 earned an honorary doctorate from SMU. He died during
a visit to Galveston, aged 78.
Dr. Lane's lifelong interest in early Egyptian and Babylonian
cultures led him to compile an extensive collection of ancient
artifacts. He began donating the collection
to SMU in 1917. He
became a prominent member of the Archaeological Institute of America
and the honorary secretary of the Texas branch of the Egyptian
Exploration Society of London. In 1922 he arranged for the British
Museum's permanent deposit of twelve important papyrus fragments at
SMU. On 8 November 1926, SMU opened its first University Museum in
old Kirby Hall (now Florence Hall of the SMU Law School), the home
of the theological seminary. Two years later, to honor his
generosity and leadership, the university's Trustees officially
named it the A. V. Lane Museum.
