science

James Leakey

James Leakey is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand James Leakey rather than just read about it. In short: James Leakey (1775 – 1865) was an English landscape and portrait artist. Life Born on 20 September 1775 in Exeter, Devon, he was the son of John Leakey, who was in the wool trade.

Key takeaways

James Leakey belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect James Leakey to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of James Leakey from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

James Leakey (1775 – 1865) was an English landscape and portrait artist.

Life Born on 20 September 1775 in Exeter, Devon, he was the son of John Leakey, who was in the wool trade. At the time of Sir Joshua Reynolds's death he was about to become his pupil. Leakey established himself at Exeter, painting portraits, miniatures and landscapes. He also produced small interiors with groups of rustic figures and Sir Francis Baring purchased one of those for £500. With the exception of a time in London from 1821 to 1825, during which he was intimate with Thomas Lawrence, David Wilkie, and other leading painters, Leakey's life was mostly passed at Exeter. He died there on 16 February 1865.

Works

Leakey exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1821 The Marvellous Tale, in 1822 The Fortune Teller, in 1838 portraits and landscapes, and in 1846 The Distressed Wife. Leakey was best known for his delicate miniatures, painted in oils on ivory. These brought him a local celebrity. In the Exeter Guildhall there is a portrait by him of Henry Blackhall, mayor of Exeter; also a copy by him of Reynolds's portrait of John Rolle Walter. His portrait of John Haddy James (1788-1869), surgeon, is in the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital. In 1846 Leakey published a plate by Samuel Cousins, from his portrait of John Rashdall, minister of Bedford Chapel, Exeter.

Family By his marriage in 1815 with Eliza Hubbard Woolmer, Leakey had eleven children. They included the writer Caroline Leakey. He is the founding member of the Leakey family, with branches specialising in archaeology and the military.

Notes

Attribution This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Lee, Sidney, ed. (1892). "Leakey, James". Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 32. London: Smith, Elder & Co.

External links

"Retirement". A poem by Letitia Elizabeth Landon from The Literary Souvenir, 1826 illustrative of a picture of that name, by Leaky (sic), then in the British Gallery.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with James Leakey

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what James Leakey claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to James Leakey before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about James Leakey ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of James Leakey

In research: James Leakey appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses James Leakey in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: James Leakey is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1775 births, 1865 deaths, 18th-century English male painters, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for James Leakey outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study James Leakey in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what James Leakey means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain James Leakey out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is James Leakey in simple terms?

James Leakey (1775 – 1865) was an English landscape and portrait artist. Life Born on 20 September 1775 in Exeter, Devon, he was the son of John Leakey, who was in the wool trade.

Why does James Leakey matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study James Leakey?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on James Leakey.