Lee, Arthur, 1740-1792

Arthur Lee (20 December 1740 – 12 December 1792) was a physician and opponent of slavery in colonial Virginia in North America who served as an American diplomat during the American Revolutionary War. He was educated in medicine and law at the University of Edinburgh and in London, respectively. After passing the bar, he practiced law in London for several years. He stayed in London during the Revolutionary War, representing the colonies to Britain and France and also serving as an American spy to track their activities. After his return to Virginia, he served as a delegate to the Continental Congress.

Born at Statford Hall in Westmoreland County in the Colony of Virginia, he attended Eton College, studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh, matriculated at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, and studied law in London, England. After passing the bar, he practiced in London from 1770 to 1776. During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress appointed Lee as its envoy to Spain and Prussia, but his success was at best mixed. Later, in Paris, after Lee helped negotiate the Treaty of Alliance (1778) with France, he fell out with Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane. In addition to his diplomatic duties, Lee was arguably one of America's first spies. He gathered information in France and Britain. He also successfully identified Edward Bancroft, secretary to the American legation in Paris, as a British spy.

After Lee returned to Virginia, the state in 1782 sent him as a delegate to the Continental Congress. He served as a member of the state house of delegates from 1781 to 1783, in 1785, and in 1786 and a member of the treasury board from 1785 to 1789. Lee died in Urbanna, Virginia and was interred in Lansdowne Garden, in the rear of Lansdowne, his home.