The personal papers of Howard Bishop Lewis concern his public activities rather than his private life. This includes his roles as educator and administrator at the University, and as a researcher in the fields of health and nutrition. The materials have been divided into eight series: Photographs; Writings; Administrative; Examinations; Lectures; Research Files; Correspondence; and Organizational Activities and Interests.
Howard Bishop Lewis was born in Southington, Connecticut on November 8, 1887. He received his bachelor of arts in 1908 and his Ph.D. in 1913 from Yale University. Lewis then worked as an instructor in physiological chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania until 1915, when he took a position as associate professor in physiological chemistry at the University of Illinois. He remained at Illinois until 1922, then accepted an appointment as chairman of the Department of Biological Chemistry at the University of Michigan. From 1933 to 1947 Lewis served as both chairman of the Department of Biological Chemistry and as the director of the College of Pharmacy. A series of strokes forced the Department to choose an acting chairman, Lewis' colleague Adam A. Christman, in the spring of 1953. Lewis died on March 7, 1954.
In addition to his administrative duties as chairman and dean, Lewis was also a professor in the Department of Biological Chemistry, teaching courses related to biological chemistry and nutrition. He was especially involved in the curriculum of graduate students. He also served on the supervising committee for the Michigan Memorial-Phoenix Project.
His research interest in nutrition prompted Lewis to become active in a number of nutritional and health organizations. Notably, he served as an officer in a few of these organizations. He was president of the Michigan Nutrition Committee/Council from 1948-1952. (The Committee was renamed the Council on November 26, 1946, as documented in Lewis' papers). For the American Institute of Nutrition, he served on the council during 1941-42, before he became vice-president of the group in 1943 and president in 1943-1944.
Because of his special interest in nutrition, Lewis was appointed to a number of national policy boards and committees that were deemed especially important during the war years. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1949, and served on the National Board of Medical Examiners from 1935 to 1950. From 1943 until his death, he also served on a number of National Research Council committees, which had a direct influence on national policy on nutrition in the 1940s leading to many food enrichment programs for milk and flour.
Besides his role in nutrition and health organizations, Lewis was active in many professional organizations of his field. He served as an active member for a number of national bodies, including the American Chemical Society, the American Medical Association, and the Great Lakes Research Institute. He served as officer for many groups as well. For the American Society of Biological Chemists, he served as secretary from 1929-1933, vice-president from 1933-1935, president from 1935-1937, and on the council from 1937-1940 and 1941-1942. He was also at one time president of the Michigan Academy of Arts, Science and Letters.
In addition to membership and acting as an officer, Lewis served the professional community through activity on several editorial boards. These include the journals for the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine from 1927-1938, Physiological Reviews from 1935-1939, the Journal of Nutrition from 1935-1945, Chemical Reviews from 1938-1940, and the Journal of Biological Chemistry from 1938-1954.
Because of his standing in the field of biochemistry, Lewis was called to serve on several committees to award professional recognition. These include the American Chemical Society's Eli Lilly Award and Borden Award, the American Institute of Nutrition's Borden Award, the Mead-Johnson Award, the American Medical Association's Goldburger Award, the American Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Award, and the Nutrition Foundation Award.
Adam A. Christman has written a more detailed biography of Lewis. This volume is catalogued separately.
