Kenneth Swanson Ryrie

(d. 1979)
Electronic engineer, Freemason and book collector

A native of Thurso, Kenneth Ryrie graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1942 (MA Hons in Mathematics and Natural Philosophy), and joined Standard Telephone and Cable in London where he worked on radar and navigational aids during the closing years of the Second World War. His developing expertise drew him to Ferranti Ltd, with whom he spent the rest of his career. He was a devoted Freemason and historian of the Craft, and collected books, of which he bequeathed 1,500 to the University Library. These included over 500 early Penguin and Pelican Books published between 1935 and 1960; they formed the basis of the Library's extensive Penguin Collection, which was extended and expanded by Sally Lamont-Wood, Donations Librarian and the active help of many members of the Friends of Edinburgh University Library. It is now the largest collection of Penguin Books in Scotland, and one of the most significant in the UK.