Gilbert N. Lewis
American physical chemist who proposed the covalent bond and coined the term 'photon'.
Gilbert Newton Lewis (born in 1875 in Weymouth, Massachusetts; died March 23, 1946) was an American physical chemist who served as dean of the College of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley. He is most famous for describing the covalent bond and the idea of electron pairs, and his Lewis dot structures and work on valence bond theory remain central to how chemists understand bonding. He made important advances in chemical thermodynamics, photochemistry, and isotope separation, and he also developed a well-known theory of acids and bases. In addition, Lewis studied relativity and quantum physics, and in 1926 he introduced the term "photon" to refer to the smallest unit of radiant energy.
Lewis grew up in Weymouth, Massachusetts, where a street and a high school chemistry wing now bear his name. He was taught at home by his parents, Frank Wesley Lewis and Mary Burr White Lewis, and learned to read by age three. His family moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1884, and he began formal schooling at a university preparatory school in 1889. After two years at the University of Nebraska, he transferred to Harvard, earning a B.S. in 1896. Following a year teaching at Phillips Academy in Andover, he returned to Harvard for his Ph.D., which he completed in 1899 under physical chemist T. W. Richards, with a dissertation on electrochemical potentials. He then taught at Harvard for a year before taking a traveling fellowship to Germany, where he studied with Walther Nernst at Göttingen and Wilhelm Ostwald at Leipzig. While in Nernst’s lab, Lewis developed a lasting hostility toward him, later calling Nernst’s heat theorem work “a regrettable episode in the history of chemistry.” A Swedish colleague of Nernst’s, Wilhelm Palmær, served on the Nobel Chemistry Committee and reportedly used his position to block Lewis from winning a Nobel Prize in thermodynamics by nominating him three times and then writing negative reports.
After his time in Germany, Lewis returned to Harvard in 1901 as an instructor in thermodynamics and electrochemistry. In 1904, he took a leave to become Superintendent of Weights and Measures for the Bureau of Science in Manila, Philippines. The next year, he joined the faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, working under Arthur Amos Noyes. He became an assistant professor in 1907, associate professor in 1908, and full professor in 1911. In 1912, Lewis moved to the University of California, Berkeley, as a professor of physical chemistry and dean of the College of Chemistry. He married Mary Hinckley Sheldon, daughter of a Harvard professor, on June 21, 1912; they had two sons, both of whom became chemistry professors, and a daughter. He joined the professional chemistry fraternity Alpha Chi Sigma at Berkeley in 1913.
At Berkeley, Lewis reformed the chemistry curriculum by incorporating thermodynamic principles in a mathematically rigorous way that ordinary chemists could use. He began measuring free energy values for many chemical processes, both organic and inorganic. In 1916, he proposed his theory of bonding and added electron information to the periodic table. In 1933, he started work on isotope separation, purifying a sample of heavy water using hydrogen. He later developed his acid-base theory and spent his final years on photochemistry. Though nominated 41 times, Lewis never won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, a notable controversy. However, he mentored many future Nobel laureates at Berkeley, including Harold Urey (1934), William F. Giauque (1949), Glenn T. Seaborg (1951), Willard Libby (1960), and Melvin Calvin (1961), helping turn Berkeley into a world-leading chemistry center. On March 23, 1946, Lewis was found dead in his Berkeley laboratory, where he had been working with hydrogen cyanide; many believed he died by suicide. After his death, his children pursued chemistry careers, and Lewis Hall on the Berkeley campus was named in his honor.
- born
- October 23 or October 25, 1875
- died
- March 23, 1946
- field
- Physical chemistry
- nationality
- American
- known_for
- Covalent bond, Lewis dot structures, electron pair concept, photon term, acid-base theory
Lore & Background
G. N. Lewis was born in 1875 in Weymouth, Massachusetts. After receiving his PhD in chemistry from Harvard University and studying abroad in Germany and the Philippines, Lewis moved to California in 1912 to teach chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, where he became the dean of the college of chemistry and spent the rest of his life. As a professor, he incorporated thermodynamic principles into the chemistry curriculum and reformed chemical thermodynamics in a mathematically rigorous manner accessible to ordinary chemists. He began measuring the free energy values related to several chemical processes, both organic and inorganic. In 1916, he also proposed his theory of bonding and added information about electrons in the periodic table of the chemical elements. In 1933, he started his research on isotope separation. Lewis worked with hydrogen and managed to purify a sample of heavy water. He then came up with his theory of acids and bases, and did work in photochemistry during the last years of his life. Though he was nominated 41 times, G. N. Lewis never won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, resulting in a major Nobel Prize controversy. On the other hand, Lewis mentored and influenced numerous Nobel laureates at Berkeley including Harold Urey (1934 Nobel Prize), William F. Giauque (1949 Nobel Prize), Glenn T. Seaborg (1951 Nobel Prize), Willard Libby (1960 Nobel Prize), Melvin Calvin (1961 Nobel Prize) and so on, turning Berkeley into one of the world's most prestigious centers for chemistry. On March 23, 1946, Lewis was found dead in his Berkeley laboratory where he had been working with hydrogen cyanide; many postulated that the cause of his death was suicide. After Lewis' death, his children followed their father's career in chemistry, and the Lewis Hall on the Berkeley campus is named after him.
Reader's Guide
Lewis was born in 1875 and raised in Weymouth, Massachusetts, where there exists a street named for him, G.N. Lewis Way, off Summer Street. Additionally, the wing of the new Weymouth High School Chemistry department has been named in his honor. Lewis received his primary education at home from his parents, Frank Wesley Lewis, a lawyer of independent character, and Mary Burr White Lewis. He read at age three and was intellectually precocious. In 1884 his family moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, and in 1889 he received his first formal education at the university preparatory school. In 1893, after two years at the University of Nebraska, Lewis transferred to Harvard University, where he obtained his B.S. in 1896. After a year of teaching at Phillips Academy in Andover, Lewis returned to Harvard to study with the physical chemist T. W. Richards and obtained his Ph.D. in 1899 with a dissertation on electrochemical potentials. After a year of teaching at Harvard, Lewis took a traveling fellowship to Germany, the center of physical chemistry, and studied with Walther Nernst at Göttingen and with Wilhelm Ostwald at Leipzig. While working in Nernst's lab, Lewis apparently developed a lifelong enmity with Nernst. In the following years, Lewis started to criticize and denounce his former teacher on many occasions, calling Nernst's work on his heat theorem "a regrettable episode in the history of chemistry". A Swedish friend of Nernst's, Wilhelm Palmær, was a member of the Nobel Chemistry Committee. There is evidence that he used the Nobel nominating and reporting procedures to block a Nobel Prize for Lewis in thermodynamics by nominating Lewis for the prize three times, and then using his position as a committee member to write negative reports. After his stay in Nernst's lab, Lewis returned to Harvard in 1901 as an instructor for three more years. He was appointed instructor in thermodynamics and electrochemistry. In 1904, Lewis was granted a leave of absence and became Superintendent of Weights and Measures for the Bureau of Science in Manila, Philippines. The next year he returned to Cambridge, Massachusetts when the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) appointed him to a faculty position, in which he had a chance to join a group of outstanding physical chemists under the direction of Arthur Amos Noyes. He became an assistant professor in 1907, associate professor
Did You Know?
- Lewis coined the term 'photon' in 1926 for the smallest unit of radiant energy.
- Lewis was nominated 41 times for the Nobel Prize but never won.
- Lewis mentored 14 future Nobel laureates at Berkeley.
- Lewis purified a sample of heavy water in 1933.
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