William Lewis (scientist)
William Lewis FRS (1714 – 1781) was an English chemist and physician.[1] He is known for his writings related to pharmacy and medicine, and for his research into metals.[2]
Life and work
William Lewis, the son of John Lewis, was born in London. He matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford on 17 March 1730. He was graduated B.A. in 1734, and proceeded M.A. 1737, M.B. 1741, and M.D. 1745. He practiced as a physician, and in 1746 was living in Dover Street, London, but shortly afterwards moved to Kingston-upon-Thames. At the opening of the Radcliffe Library in 1749, Lewis delivered the oration. He died on 21 January 1781.
Honours
- Fellow of the Royal Society (1745)
- Copley Medal (1754)
Selected writings
- A Course of Practical Chemistry, London, 1746, 8vo.
- Pharmacopœia Edinburgensis, London, 1748, 8vo.
- The New Dispensatory, London, 1753, 8vo, Edinburgh, 1781, 1791.
- Experimental History of the Materia Medica, London, 1761, 4to; 2nd edit. 176S; 3rd edit, by J. Aiken, 1784; German translation,1771.
- Commercium Philosophico-Technicum, London, 1763-1766, 4to.
Lewis also published translations of Caspar Neuman's chemical works in 1759, and (posthumously) of Hoffman's System of the Practice of Medicine (1783). Two papers by him on platinum appeared in the Philosophical Transactions for 1754 and 1767. In 1767 the Society for the Improvement of Arts, Manufactures, &c., of which he was a founder, awarded him a gold medal for an essay upon 'potashes'.
References
- ^ Most of the text of this article is adapted from page 708 of The Dictionary of National Biography (1909).
- ^ * "William Lewis and Platina: Bicentenary of the Commercium Philosophico-Technicum". Platinum Metals Review. 7 (2): 66–69. 1963.
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