Thomas, Lewis (1913–1993)

US physician and academic, best known as a writer of essays on science, especially medicine and biology, for the nonscientist. Essays include ‘The Lives of a Cell’ 1974 and ‘Medusa and the Snail’ 1979.

Thomas's father was a doctor and his mother a nurse. As a child in New York, Lewis would often accompany his father on his rounds. Later, he attended Princeton University, from which he graduated to take an internship at the Boston City Hospital 1937. During World War II he served in the navy, carrying out medical experiments in the Pacific. After the war, he continued his medical career; he was dean of the New York University School of Medicine 1966–72 and of the Yale School of Medicine 1972–73, and was president and chief executive of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center 1973–80.