Isaac Lea
Encyclopedia
Isaac Lea was an American
conchologist
, geologist
, and businessman, who was born in Wilmington
, Delaware
.
. He devoted his leisure time to the collection and study of objects of natural history. He was especially interested in freshwater and land mollusks, and for 50 years he made contributions to the transactions of the scientific societies of Philadelphia concerning these animals.
His immense collection of freshwater mussels from the family Unionidae
, and his other collections, are deposited in the National Museum
at Washington
.
He was President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
in 1860.
, the Philadelphia publisher. His son, Henry Charles Lea
(September 19, 1825 - October 24, 1909) was an American historian, civic reformer, and political activist in Philadelphia.
Molluscan taxa named by Lea include:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
conchologist
Conchology
Conchology is the scientific or amateur study of mollusc shells. Conchology is one aspect of malacology, the study of molluscs, however malacology studies molluscs as whole organisms, not just their shells. Conchology pre-dated malacology as a field of study. It includes the study of land and...
, geologist
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
, and businessman, who was born in Wilmington
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
, Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
.
Life
Lea was a partner of a large publishing house in PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. He devoted his leisure time to the collection and study of objects of natural history. He was especially interested in freshwater and land mollusks, and for 50 years he made contributions to the transactions of the scientific societies of Philadelphia concerning these animals.
His immense collection of freshwater mussels from the family Unionidae
Unionidae
Unionidae is a family of freshwater mussels, the largest in the order Unionoida, the bivalve mollusks sometimes known as river mussels, naiads, or simply as unionids.The range of distribution for this family is world-wide...
, and his other collections, are deposited in the National Museum
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
at Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
.
He was President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science , founded in 1848, is the world's largest general scientific society. It serves 262 affiliated societies and academies of science and engineering, representing 10 million individuals worldwide...
in 1860.
Family
On March 8, 1821, Isaac married Frances Anne Carey (1799–1873), daughter of Mathew CareyMathew Carey
Mathew Carey was an Irish-born American publisher and economist.-Early days:Carey came from a middle-class family and was born in Dublin in 1760. He entered the bookselling and printing business in 1775, and when still only seventeen published a pamphlet criticizing dueling...
, the Philadelphia publisher. His son, Henry Charles Lea
Henry Charles Lea
Henry Charles Lea was an American historian, civic reformer, and political activist. Lea was born and lived in Philadelphia.-Parents:...
(September 19, 1825 - October 24, 1909) was an American historian, civic reformer, and political activist in Philadelphia.
Publications
His publications included:- (1827-1874). Observations on the Genus Unio. 13 volumes.
- (1833). Contributions to Geology
- (1838). Synopsis of the Family of Naiades
- Lea I. (1838). "Description of New Freshwater and Land Shells". Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 6: 1-154.
- (1852). Fossil Footmarks in the Red Sandstones of PottsvillePottsville, PennsylvaniaPottsville is the only city in and the county seat of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 15,549 at the 2000 census. The city lies along the west bank of the Schuylkill River, north-west of Philadelphia...
Molluscan taxa named by Lea include:
- Euglandina vanuxemensisEuglandina vanuxemensisEuglandina vanuxemensis, is a species of predatory air-breathing land snail, a carnivorous terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Spiraxidae....
(Lea, 1834) - a carnivorous land snail