John Leybourne (sometimes Leyborne) Popham, mining engineer, resided in Johannesburg in 1897 but soon moved to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). He became a member of the Rhodesia Scientific Association in 1899, the year of its formation, served on the association's council for 1906/7, and was joint vice-president for 1907/8. He became a member of the Geological Society of South Africa in 1906 and was still a member in 1914. In 1908, then living in Bulawayo, he became a member of the Chemical, Metallurgical and Mining Society of South Africa and by then was also an associate member of the (British) Institution of Mining and Metallurgy.
In February 1904 Popham delivered "Notes on the N'Natali ruins" at a meeting of the Rhodesia Scientific Association. The paper was published in the Proceedings (Vol. 4, pp. 67-70). In 1918 he was still a member, though he resided in London by 1914 and was on active service during World War I (1914-1918).
