author

William Dodge Lewis

1870–1960

Best remembered for shaping schoolbooks, dictionaries, and reference works, this American educator spent decades helping readers and students make sense of language. His career moved from classrooms and school leadership into major editorial work, giving his books a practical, teacherly clarity.

1 Audiobook

The Silent Readers: Sixth Reader

The Silent Readers: Sixth Reader

by Ethel Maltby Gehres, William Dodge Lewis, Albert Lindsay Rowland

About the author

Born in Russell, New York, on January 17, 1870, he studied at Syracuse University, earning bachelor's and master's degrees there and later a doctorate. Early in his career he worked in schools as a teacher, principal, and education leader, building a strong background in English instruction and public education.

He later served as principal of William Penn High School in Philadelphia and then as Pennsylvania's Superintendent of Public Instruction from 1919 to 1923. After that, he worked as an editor with the John C. Winston Company in Philadelphia, where he was closely associated with textbooks, readers, dictionaries, and large reference projects.

William Dodge Lewis is especially linked with practical English textbooks, the Winston dictionaries, and encyclopedic reference works such as the American International Encyclopedia. Archival records at Syracuse University show the breadth of his writing and editorial work, including manuscripts, articles, and school materials. He died on November 14, 1960, in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania.