Niven, William

William Niven (2 October 1850 – 2 June 1937) was a mineralogist and archeologist noted for his discovery of the minerals yttrialite, thorogummite, aguilarite and nivenite (named after him), as well as a set of controversial tablets. Originally from Scotland, Niven came to the United States in 1879, where he became heavily involved in mineralogy and mining.
Niven eventually became interested in archaeology through his travels to Mexico and excavations being undertaken there at the time. Niven began his archaeological work in Guerrero, Mexico where, among of other work, he purchased the first rediscovered Xochipala-style figurine. Due to the Mexican Revolution of 1910, however, he was forced to move to the Valley of Mexico.(Wikipedia 2016)