Biography of Lloyd Lewis

Newspaper journalist, editor, and historian.

Lloyd Downs Lewis was born May 2, 1891 in Pendleton, Indiana to J.J. Lewis and Josephine Downs, and was raised in the Quaker tradition. Lewis attended Swarthmore College where he was editor of the Swarthmore Phoenix, and graduated in 1913.

After graduation, Lewis became a reporter for the North American in Philadelphia where he remained until 1915 when he left to work for the Chicago Herald. During WWI, Lewis enlisted in the Navy and served for one year. Upon his discharge, Lloyd worked as a publicist and advertising director for the Chicago movie chain Balaban and Katz. In 1930, Lewis returned to journalism, taking a position with the Chicago Daily News as a drama critic. He eventually became the amusement editor, and in 1936 became the sports editor where he produced innovative sports writing by reporting on personalities and dramatic elements. In 1943, he was promoted to managing editor of the Chicago Daily News, a position he held until he retired in 1945 to focus on his historical writing. He wrote several highly regarded historical books including Myths After Lincoln, Sherman: Fighting Prophet, and Captain Sam Grant, the latter completed by Bruce Catton after Lewis' death.

Lewis married Kathryn Dougherty, a well-known journalist in her own right, on Dec. 30, 1925. They had no children, but raised Nancy Anderson, the daughter of a friend of Kathryn's who had passed away. Lewis and his wife co-owned two sheep ranches with friend Jay Monaghan in Utah and Colorado. They also commissioned friend Frank Lloyd Wright to design their home in Libertyville, Illinois near the Des Plaines River. Lloyd Lewis died unexpectedly of a heart attack on April 21, 1949.