Frederic Schiller Lee

Frederic Schiller Lee (1859-1939) was an American physiologist who spent most of his research career at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Early life and education Lee was born on June 16, 1859, in Canton, New York, one of five children born to Reverend John Stebbins Lee and his wife Elmina. The elder Lee served as the first president of St. Lawrence University, from which Frederic received his bachelor's degree in 1878. (Frederic's brother, John Clarence, would go on to serve as the university's fifth president.) Frederic Lee received his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1885 under the supervision of H. Newell Martin. He then returned to the United States, spent a year as an instructor of biology at St. Lawrence, and then moved to an instructorship in histology and physiology at Bryn Mawr College. and published this work in the book The Human Machine and Industrial Efficiency in 1919.

Personal life Lee spent many years engaged with the governance of the New York Botanical Gardens, serving 24 years on its board of managers, two years as its vice president, and four years as its president, He was also a trustee of the Columbia University Press and served as a member of the board of directors of an Arizona sanitorium. Lee died on December 14, 1939, following a long illness.