William Lewis FRS (c. 1708 – 1781) was a British chemist and physician. He is known for his writings related to pharmacy and medicine, and for his research into metals.

Life and work

William Lewis, the son of John (William?) Lewis, a brewer, was born in

Richmond, Surrey Richmond is a town in south-west London,The London Government Act 1963 (c.33) (as amended) categorises the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames as an Outer London borough. Although it is on both sides of the River Thames, the Boundary Commis ...

. He matriculated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

on 17 March 1730. He was graduated B.A. in 1734, and proceeded M.A. 1737, M.B. 1741, and M.D. 1745. He practised as a physician, and in 1746 was living in

Dover Street Dover Street is a street in Mayfair, London. The street is notable for its Georgian architecture as well as the location of historic London clubs and hotels, which have been frequented by world leaders and historic figures in the arts. It also ...

, London, but shortly afterwards moved to

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...

. At the opening of the Radcliffe Library in 1749, Lewis delivered the oration. He died in

Kingston, Surrey Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...

on 21 January 1781 and was buried in Richmond.

Honours

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

(1745) *

Copley Medal The Copley Medal is an award given by the Royal Society, for "outstanding achievements in research in any branch of science". It alternates between the physical sciences or mathematics and the biological sciences. Given every year, the medal is t ...

(1754) "For the Many Experiments made by him on

Platina Platina is a municipality ''( município)'' in the state of São Paulo in Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and ...

, which tend to the discovery of the sophistication of gold:—which he would have entirely completed, but was obliged to put a stop to his further enquiries for want of materials."''Report on the Adjudication of the Copley, Rumford and Royal Medals'' (1834) compiled from the original documents in the archives of the Royal Society by James Hudson
p. 11.
/ref>

Selected writings

*''A Course of Practical Chemistry'', London, 1746, 8vo. *''Pharmacopœia Edinburgensis'', London, 1748, 8vo. *
The New Dispensatory
', London, 1753
Digital edition
8vo, Edinburgh, 178
Digital edition
by the

University and State Library Düsseldorf The University and State Library Düsseldorf (german: Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Düsseldorf, abbreviated ULB Düsseldorf) is a central service institution of Heinrich Heine University. Along with Bonn and Münster, it is also one of th ...

, 1791. *''Experimental History of the Materia Medica'', London, 176
Digital edition
by the

; 3rd edit, by J. Aiken, 1784; German translation, 1771. *''Willhelm Lewis Materia medica oder Beschreibung der einfachen Arzneymittel'' . Orell, Geßner, Füeßlin & Co., Zürich 177
Digital edition
by the

*''Commercium Philosophico-Technicum'', London, 176
Digital edition
4to. *''Neues verbessertes Dispensatorium oder Arzneybuch, in welchem alles, was zu der Apothekerkunst gehöret, nach den Londoner und Edinburger Pharmacopeen mit practischen Wahrnehmungen und Bemerkungen vorgetragen wird; aus dem Engländischen übersetzet''. Brandt, Hamburg 2 Bände 1768/177
Digital edition
by the

*''The new dispensatory : containing 1. The elements of pharmacy, 2. The materia medica, or an account of the substances employed in medicine, 3. The preparations and compositions of the new London and Edinburgh pharmacopoeias; the whole interspersed with practical cautions and observations''. F. Wingrave, London 6th ed. 179
Digital edition
by the

Lewis also published translations of

Caspar Neumann Caspar (or Kaspar) Neumann (14 September 1648 – 27 January 1715) was a German professor and clergyman from Breslau with a special scientific interest in mortality rates. Biography Caspar Neuman was born September 14, 1648 in Breslau, to M ...

's chemical works in 175
Digital edition
and 1773
Vol. I

Vol. II
, and (posthumously) of Hoffman's ''System of the Practice of Medicine'' (1783). In 1754 and 1757 he published a series of original papers on platinum: ''Phil. Trans. R. Soc.'' 48 (1754) 638–689
Papers I–IV
, ''Phil. Trans. R. Soc.'' 50 (1757) 148–155
Paper V
& ''Phil. Trans. R. Soc.'' 50 (1757) 156–166
Paper VI
. 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

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, William 1708 births 1781 deaths People from Richmond, London English chemists Fellows of the Royal Society Recipients of the Copley Medal 18th-century English people 18th-century English medical doctors

Life and work

Honours

Selected writings

References

Further reading

External links