Lewis, Gilbert Newton (1875-1946), an American chemist, helped develop the modern electron theory of valence, a theory that explains the forces that hold atoms together in molecules. In 1916, he proposed that a pair of electrons, held jointly by two atoms, constitutes a chemical bond. He further suggested that a shell of eight electrons arranged in pairs about the atom resulted in increased stability for the atom. These ideas were expanded into an electron theory by such chemists as Irving Langmuir and Linus Pauling.
Lewis was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts, and received a doctor’s degree from Harvard in 1899. In 1912, he became professor of chemistry and dean at the University of California. There he introduced thermodynamics into the chemistry curriculum.
