Lewis, Bernard, 1916-2018

Brought up in a London Jewish family, Bernard Lewis early showed a flair for languages and history, taking a SOAS History MA and then PhD. He served in Intelligence in the war, returning to SOAS where he gained a chair in 1949 and stayed until 1974, when he moved to Princeton, retiring in 1990. He taught and published extensively and was involved in controversies over Orientalism and the ‘Clash of Civilizations’. Subsequently he achieved prominence, regularly advising the US government on Middle Eastern issues, while maintaining a steady output of books and articles until his death just before his 102nd birthday.

Posted to Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the British Academy, XIX