Charlton Thomas Lewis (February 25, 1834 – May 26, 1904) was an American
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters.
The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...
, writer, and
lexicographer
Lexicography is the study of lexicons and the art of compiling dictionaries. It is divided into two separate academic disciplines:
* Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionary, dictionaries.
* The ...
, who is particularly remembered as a compiler of several Latin–English dictionaries.
Biography
Lewis was born in
West Chester, Pennsylvania
West Chester is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located in the Delaware Valley, Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough had a population of 18,671 at the 2020 census. West ...
, to
Joseph J. Lewis and Mary (Miner) Lewis. He graduated from
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
in 1853. After further studying with a view to entering the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church, he served as professor at the State Normal University at
Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington is a city in McLean County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census showed the city had a population of 78,680, making it the List of municipalities in Illinois, 13th-most populous ci ...
, 1856–57, and from 1858 to 1861 was professor of Greek at Methodist-affiliated
Troy University (New York).
In 1863-64 he was a United States deputy commissioner of internal revenue.
He began the practice of law in New York City in 1865. For a year in 1870–71, he served as the managing editor of the
''New York Evening Post'' newspaper.
In 1871 he returned to law practice, where he specialized in insurance law and was longstanding law counsel for a large insurance company in New York city.
During 1898–99, he was a lecturer on insurance at
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...
,
Columbia and
Cornell
Cornell University is a private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson White in 1865. Since ...
universities.
He was also president of the Prison Association of New York and of the State Charities Aid Association of New Jersey.
He married Nancy D. McKeen in 1861. He married Margaret P. Sherrard in 1885.
He died in
Morristown, New Jersey
Morristown () is a Town (New Jersey), town in and the county seat of Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. , as a result of
cerebrospinal meningitis
Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, intense headache, vomiting and neck stiffness and occasionally ...
.
Works
Major published works:
* ''Gnomon of the New Testament'', translated from the German of
Bengel (1861)
* ''A History of Germany, from the Earliest Times'' (1870)
* ''
A Latin Dictionary
''A Latin Dictionary'' (or ''Harpers' Latin Dictionary'', often referred to as Lewis and Short or L&S) is a popular English-language lexicographical work of the Latin language, published by Harper and Brothers of New York in 1879 and printed ...
'', in collaboration with Charles Short (1879)
(also known as ''Harper's Latin Dictionary'')
* ''Latin Dictionary for Schools'' (1889)
* ''An Elementary Latin Dictionary'' (1890)
Notes
References
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Charlton Thomas
1834 births
1904 deaths
American male non-fiction writers
American editors
Yale University alumni
Illinois State University faculty
Harvard University faculty
Columbia University faculty
Cornell University faculty
People from West Chester, Pennsylvania
Writers from Pennsylvania
German–English translators
American lexicographers
American classical scholars
19th-century American translators
19th-century American male writers
19th-century American lexicographers