Isaac Lea

Isaac Lea (1792 - 1886) was an American conchologist, geologist, and business man, born at Wilmington, Delaware. He was a partner of a large publishing house in Philadelphia, who devoted his leisure time to the collection and study of objects of natural history. He was especially interested in freshwater and land mollusks and during 50 years continued to make contributions to the transactions of the scientific societies of Philadelphia concerning these animals. His immense collection of Unionidæ 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. His writing included:

• Observations on the Genus Unio (13 volumes, 1827-74)
• Contributions to Geology (1833)
• Synopsis of the Family of Naiades (1838)
• Fossil Footmarks in the Red Sandstones of Pottsville (1852)

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• This article incorporates text from an edition of the New International Encyclopedia that is in the public domain.