The American chemist Gilbert Newton Lewis, b. West Newton, Mass., Oct. 25, 1875, d. Mar. 23, 1946, contributed to the study of thermodynamics, atomic structure, and bonding, as well as to the theory of acids and bases and the teaching of thermodynamics as applied to chemistry. Lewis's work in thermodynamics led him to confirm H. Walther Nernst's third law of thermodynamics. His atomic model, known as the Lewis-Langmuir octet, and his distinction between ionic and covalent bonds marked great progress in understanding chemical bonding. His acid-base concept, which asserted that a base donates an electron pair and an acid accepts the pair in covalent bonding, superseded the Bronsted-Lowry theory. The importance of thermodynamics in chemistry was stressed in the then universally accepted textbook Thermodynamics and the Free Energy of Chemical Substances (1923) coauthored by Lewis and Merle Randall. Back to the Biographies Copyright, 1998. Atomic Magic. Content of the respective scientist are the property of Grolier Multimedia, Inc. This page and its respective graphics, scripts, and text are the copyrighted property of Atomic Magic unless otherwise noted. To send comments or ideas, please e-mail us.