Henry Charles Lea (September 19, 1825 – October 24, 1909) was an American publisher, civic activist, philanthropist and historian from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

It covered the trivium (grammar, logic and rhetoric), quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, music and celestial navigation), classical languages and history.

Nulty immersed Lea in a single subject for long periods with a view to mastery,[4] with advanced lessons.

[7] Lea worked too in the Booth & Boy chemical laboratory, and he published his first paper, at age 13, on manganese salts.

Lea developed an interest in poetry and at his mother's suggestion, translated Greek poets and composed original verse.

[16][17] In 1844, Lea stood guard with a musket for two days and two nights in front of a Catholic Church to prevent property damage during the Philadelphia nativist riots.

[2] In 1863 Lea was appointed one of the Bounty Commissioners under the Enrollment Act and served until 1865, working closely with Provost Marshal General James B. Fry accounting for the city's quotas of enlisted men.

[19] He served as president of the Philadelphia branch of the American Social Science Association and as a member of the Industrial League.

In 1871, he organized the Citizens' Municipal Reform Association of Philadelphia which focused on fighting corruption in city government.

Lea believed that the project cost too much, and was angered by the political corruption involved in the awarding of contracts and purchase of building materials.

Lea planned and held a large public meeting to recruit support for his alternative to the Penn Square project.

[21] He helped initiate the National Republican League to prevent Ulysses S. Grant's third term as president of the United States.

In 1891 he helped found "The Reform Political League of Pennsylvania", with Herbert Welsh as president, himself and Justus C. Strawbridge as vice-presidents, and Charles E. Richardson as secretary.

His active writing career on historical subjects spanned more than fifty years, during which Lea published ten books and numerous articles.

Highly disciplined work habits (and the ability to purchase manuscripts in Europe and Latin America and have them shipped to Philadelphia) led Lea to continue writing despite headaches and eye problems.

[23] Lea became an authority on the Spanish Inquisition, and his multi-volume work was considered groundbreaking, although opinionated, and some criticized him for anti-Catholic bias.

[3] Her father, merchant William Latta Jaubon (1798–1832) of Bucks County, Pennsylvania had died in Cincinnati, Ohio when she was a child, followed four years later by her mother, Susan Gibson Lea Jaudon (1799–1836).