Henry Charles Lea (September 19, 1825 - October 24, 1909) was an American historian who was born in Philadelphia.

His father was a publisher, whom in 1843 he joined in business, and he retained his connection with the firm till 1880. Weak health, however, caused him from early days to devote himself to research, mainly on church history in the later Middle Ages, and his literary reputation rests on the important books he produced on this subject. These are:

• Superstition and Force (Philadelphia, 1866, new ed. 1892)
• Historical Sketch of Sacerdotal Celibacy (Philadelphia, 1867)
• History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages (New York, 1888)
• Chapters from the religious history of Spain connected with the Inquisition (Philadelphia, 1890)
• History of auricular Confession and Indulgences in the Latin Church (3 vols., London, 1896)
• The Moriscos of Spain (Philadelphia, 1901)
• History of the Inquisition of Spain (4 vols., New York and London, 1906-1907).

He also edited a Formulary of the Papal Penitentiary in the 17th century (Philadelphia, 1892), and in 1908 was published his Inquisition in the Spanish Dependencies.

As an authority on the Inquisition he stood in the highest rank of modern historians, and distinctions were conferred on him by the universities of Harvard, Princeton, Pennsylvania, Giessen and Moscow.

Reference

• This entry incorporates public domain text originally from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica.