Allen Cleveland Lewis
Encyclopedia
Allen Cleveland Lewis was a Chicago citizen who left his estate in order to create Lewis Institute.
, Illinois
as a young man, where he a hardware merchant. He married and had one son. At the age of twenty months, his son died. After the death of his wife, Lewis moved to Chicago
, Illinois
.
Both Allen and his older brother John Lewis had an interest in creating a school for boys who had to leave school early to attend work. Allen traveled to Europe
multiple times to study school systems before creating his will expressing his wish to form the Lewis Institute. In 1874, his older brother, John Lewis, died. He left Allen an estate of around $350,000. A majority of the estate was invested in railroad bonds. In the three years preceding his death he acquired an additional $200,00 to the estate he left after his death in 1877. Several pieces of property were transferred to him by another brother, Henry. The real estate had little value at the time, but 50 years later its value increased.
Allen's will stated that the estate must increase to $800,000 before the school was built. In 1895 Lewis Institute was opened. In those 18 years the estate had increased from $550,000 to $1,600,000. The will also stressed that the school taught "courses of a kind and character not generally taught in public schools... studies that would be directly useful to students in obtaining a position or occupation for life."
Under its first director, George Noble Carman, Lewis Institute initiated a four-year degree track. A two years associate's degree program was also started. This made Lewis Institute the first junior college in the United States
.
Biography
Allen Cleveland Lewis was bown in Sterling, Connecticut. He lived in ElginElgin, Illinois
Elgin is a city in northern Illinois located roughly northwest of Chicago on the Fox River. Most of Elgin lies within Kane County, Illinois, with a portion in Cook County, Illinois...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
as a young man, where he a hardware merchant. He married and had one son. At the age of twenty months, his son died. After the death of his wife, Lewis moved to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
.
Both Allen and his older brother John Lewis had an interest in creating a school for boys who had to leave school early to attend work. Allen traveled to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
multiple times to study school systems before creating his will expressing his wish to form the Lewis Institute. In 1874, his older brother, John Lewis, died. He left Allen an estate of around $350,000. A majority of the estate was invested in railroad bonds. In the three years preceding his death he acquired an additional $200,00 to the estate he left after his death in 1877. Several pieces of property were transferred to him by another brother, Henry. The real estate had little value at the time, but 50 years later its value increased.
Legacy
Under its first director, George Noble Carman, Lewis Institute initiated a four-year degree track. A two years associate's degree program was also started. This made Lewis Institute the first junior college in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
See also
Illinois Institute of TechnologyIllinois Institute of Technology
Illinois Institute of Technology, commonly called Illinois Tech or IIT, is a private Ph.D.-granting university located in Chicago, Illinois, with programs in engineering, science, psychology, architecture, business, communications, industrial technology, information technology, design, and law...