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OBITUARY NOTICES. 

 RICHARD THOMAS LEWIS, F.R.M.S. 



March 2lst, ISS9— June 10th, 1916. 



IRiCHARD Thomas Lewis was born at Knightsbridge in the parish 

 of St. Margaret's, Westminster, on March 21st, 1839. He lived 

 an the house where he was born until 1882 and was ever proud 

 of being a Westminster citizen. There never was a truer Lon- 

 doner. He often said he had rather have a garret in London 

 iihan a mansion out of it. In middle life he served his parish 

 ::as a Commissioner of the Duchess of Somerset's Charity and as 

 ^a member of Committee of the first Free Library opened in 

 Xondon. 



His education was begun by his uncle, Henry Lewis, who 

 liad a school at Colchester. At this time his school-chum was 

 J. Archer Spurgeon, younger brother of the more famous Charles, 

 ^ho left the school soon after Richard Lewis entered it. Later, 

 lie went to a boarding-school in Stratford-le-Bow, where he 

 •learned from its inventor, Mr. John Freeman, the system of 

 >^shorthand which he used with such success throughout life. 

 Mt. Freeman aroused his interest in astronomy. 



Early holidays were often spent with his maternal grand- 

 father, Robert Mummery, at Dover. During these he learned 

 tiO know and love the flora of the Downs. 



In 1853-4 he studied at University College School, then 

 under the direction of Prof. Key. On leaving school he entered 

 business with his father, George Cyrus Lewis, but his leisure 

 -was filled with studies to which he turned eagerly, after days of 

 what was to him mere drudgery. 



He attended Tyndall's lectures on Light, Heat and Electricity, 

 fgiven at the School of Mines, and had some correspondence 

 with the Professor on the apparent differences in the diameter 

 of the moon. An experiment which he suggested was quoted 

 3)y Tyndall in an article published in the Philosophical Magazine 

 oi May 1862. 



