Winford Lee Lewis
Winford Lee Lewis was a US soldier and chemist best known for his rediscovery of the chemical warfare agent lewisite in 1917. He was born in Gridley, California and died in his home in Evanston, Illinois in 1943 following a fall.Biography
Winford Lee Lewis was born at home to George M Lewis and Sarah A Lewis on May 29, 1878 in Gridley, California. He was the youngest of seven children: he had six brothers and one sister. In 1908 he and his wife Myrlilla C Lewis had a daughter Miriam Lewis. He attended Stanford University and graduated in 1902. In 1909, he graduated with a degree in Chemistry from the University of Chicago. He became a chemistry professor at Northwestern University until the outbreak of World War I. During the war, he served in the United States Chemical Warfare Service. It was during his service with the Chemical Warfare Service that he rediscovered Lewisite and assisted in its weaponization and mass production. After the war, Lewis gave several high profile speeches in the defense of the Chemical Warfare Service and the use of chemical weapons in warfare.Publications
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