Sir Neil Cossons OBE FSA FMA (born 15 January 1939) is a British historian and museum administrator.
[3] He was one of the founders of the Association of Independent Museums (AIM) and its chairman from 1978 to 1983 when he was appointed president, a position he still holds.
Cossons was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1982 and knighted for services to museums and the heritage in 1994.
Other appointments include: president of the Association for Industrial Archaeology (1977–80); member of the Design Council (1990–94); non-executive director of British Waterways Board (1995–2001); Collier Professor in the Public Understanding of Science in the University of Bristol (2001–02); president of the Royal Geographical Society (2003–2006) He has been an honorary professor at the University of Birmingham since 1994.
[3] Cossons is "Britain's leading authority on the industrial heritage"[4] and has advised on matters of conservation and management widely in the UK and overseas.