XXV 



ARTHUR SHERIDAN LEA (1853-1915). 



Arthur Sheridan Lea was born in New York on December 1, 1853. He 

 was the son of Mr. J. Lea by his wife, Susan Sylvia Hobbs. His father, 

 who lived for some years in America, returned to England and settled at 

 Liverpool. He sent his son in due course to the Royal Institution School of 

 that city. In 1872 Lea entered at Trinity College, Cambridge, coming up to 

 the University with a school scholarship in Classics and Mathematics. He 

 became a Scholar of the College in 1875, took a First Class in the Natural 

 Sciences Tripos in the same year, proceeded to the M.A. degree in 1879, and 

 took the Sc.D. degree in 1886. 



A short time after taking his Bachelor's degree, whilst he was still 

 undecided what career to follow, two suggestions were made to him : one 

 that he should become a Master at a Public School, with a probability of a 

 House later on, the other — by Dr. Eoster — that he should devote himself to 

 higher teaching and research in Physiology. Lea chose the latter, in spite 

 of its meagre pecuniary prospect. In 1881 he was appointed Lecturer in 

 Physiology and Assistant Tutor of Gonville and Cains College, in 1885 he 

 was elected Fellow of the College, and in 1886 Bursar ; the latter post 

 he only held for two years. In 1884 he became Demonstrator of Physiology 

 and University Lecturer. 



Lea's special interest was in Physiological Chemistry. This study, as it 

 was carried on in England in the '70's and '80's, did not involve any 

 profound chemical knowledge ; it was mainly concerned with the experi- 

 mental determination of simple but fundamental reactions of the fluids and 

 tissues of the body. Lea's knowledge of chemical theory and methods was 

 more than adequate for the conditions of the time, and to him was due the 

 establishment of an advanced course of Physiological Chemistry at Cambridge 

 which enabled students to keep abreast of the growth of the subject. 



In the early editions of Foster's ' Text-book of Physiology ' the chemical 

 aspects of the subject were given in an Appendix, which was mainly written 

 by Lea, In the 5th Edition the Appendix was much enlarged by Lea and 

 issued as a separate volume of the Text-book, under the title, ' The Chemical 

 Basis of the Animal Body ' (1892). 



Lea's earliest investigation was carried on with Kuhne in Heidelberg. 

 One may conjecture that Kuhne suggested the work and that Lea overcame 

 its practical difficulties. Like many other scientific workers, Lea liked the 

 methods of research, and was never more contented than when busy in the 

 workshop. Kuhne and Lea examined the living pancreas under the micro- 

 scope and described the changes in appearance which occurred in it during 

 secretion. Little if anything has been added to their descriptions in the 



