William James Lewis, 1847-1926

William Lewis was born on 10 January 1847 at Llanwyddelan, Montgomeryshire, Wales. He was educated at Llanrwst Grammar School. From there, he went up to Jesus College Oxford in 1865.

For a short spell, he was a tutor at Cheltenham College (1870-1871). He was elected Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford in 1872. As he remained unmarried, he retained this Fellowship until his death.

Lewis was appointed to the British Museum in 1875 as an assistant to the Mineralogical Department, but later resigned in 1877 due to ill-health. At about this time, he was only given a year to live by his doctors and was ordered abroad for warm weather. He returned to Cambridge in 1879 and Lectured in Mineralogy. He joined Trinity College in 1880 and was elected as Professor of Mineralogy by the University of Cambridge in 1881.

Lewis had studied crystallography under Professor William Hallowes Miller at Cambridge in 1874, and in 1879 deputized for the Professor whilst Miller was ill. He took the Cambridge M.A. degree in 1880 and had rooms in Trinity College. Lewis acquired the Came and Wiltshire Collections for the Museum.

William Lewis was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1909. He served as the President of the Mineralogical Society (1909 -1912). He was also Secretary of the Crystallographic Society 1876-1883. Additionally, he was a Member of the Chemical Society (from 1869) and a Member of the Royal Astronomical Society (from 1873).

Lewis died on 16 April 1926 at his sisters home at Godalming, Surrey. His funeral service was conducted in the Chapel of Oriel College, Oxford.

From the guide to the The Papers of William James Lewis, 1890-1925, (Cambridge University: Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences)