William Fearon was a biochemist who was born in Dublin in 1892. William was the only child of Rev. William Fearon, the Presbyterian minister of Kells. Appointed in 1884 Rev. William Fearon had a manse built for the minister at Kells and also preached at Navan on alternate Sundays. Rev. Fearon died while William was an infant and he was raised in Dun Laoighre. He graduated from Trinity College with a medical degree. Fearon worked in Britain as a researcher into nutrition before returning to Ireland. A pioneer in biochemistry Fearon was given the chair in biochemistry at TCD in 1943, a position which had been created for him. Fearon represented Trinity in Seanad Éireann from 1943 to 1959. In 1848 he made a survey of the fluoride content of the drinking water in Ireland. His play about Parnell was staged on the Abbey stage. Fearon died in 1959.