william was the fifth and youngest son of sir norman lockyer. he was educated at cheltenham; trinity college, cambridge; royal college of science, london; and göttingen. his doctoral work of 1896 was on the variable η aquilae. he worked with his father initially examining sunspot periodicity and weather correlations. he then travelled around the world following eclipses from 1896 to 1932. he was involved in the establishment of the international meteorological committee. in 1920 he succeeded his father as director at the newly renamed norman lockyer observatory in sidmouth. lockyer was known for his work on sunspot cycles.