Lloyd Downs Lewis was a journalist, historian, and major figure in a remarkable world of arts and letters that flourished in Chicago following World War I.

After 12 years as publicist for Balaban and Katz, in 1930 he joined the Chicago Daily News as drama critic, becoming subsequently sports editor, managing editor, and a popular columnist. A gifted raconteur rich in friendships with the great literary, artistic, political, and sports figures of his time, Lewis was an ardent Chicagoan and Midwesterner with a voracious interest in the Civil War. His published work included Chicago: The History of Its Reputation (1929, with Henry Justin Smith); Jayhawkers, a three-act Broadway play coauthored with Sinclair Lewis (1935); and highly regarded biographies of Generals Sherman and Grant. His friends included Carl Sandburg, Sherwood Anderson, Frank Lloyd Wright, Sinclair Lewis, and Adlai Stevenson. Chicago's Newberry Library was his second home; drawing on his personal contacts, he established the library's superb collection of modern (chiefly Midwestern) manuscripts.

Richard H. Brown