Arthur Colborne Lankester was born in 1868 in Leicester, United Kingdom. He was a religiously motivated medical missionary stationed in Punjab, India and Sindh, Pakistan. In 1890, Lankester earned Membership of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons and became a Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians from the St. Thomas Hospital. He earned his Bachelor of Medicine degree from from the University of London in 1891. Following this, he became a house surgeon at the St. Thomas Hospital until October 8th, 1891 when he began missionary work in Punjab.
Lankester operated within the Amritsar Medical Mission. Originally, this mission launched schools and aimed to evangelize residents in Punjab. However, 40 years later, when Lankester began his missionary work, Amritsar largely had a medical focus. Lankester aimed to spread the Gospel while performing his medical duties, treating conditions such as cataracts and general sickness. He was also tasked by the Indian government to help mitigate tuberculosis.
Lankester worked closely with Dr. H.M. Clark. Dr. Clark focused primarily on the spread and treatment of Malaria. As such, Lankester studied insects and their ability to spread disease along with Dr. Clark.