Sir W Arthur Lewis, has been honoured by Google with a doodle for his outstanding contribution to the field of Economics. Camilla Ru, an artist based in Manchester has illustrated the doodle. On December 10, 1979, around forty-one years ago, the St Lucian economist was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics, sharing it with Theodore Schultz. Born on 23 January 1915, in the Caribbean Island, completed his schooling at the age of 14 and worked as a clerk in civil service. Having won a scholarship, he graduated from the London School of Economics in 1932 and went on to become the first Black faculty at the public research university (1938-48). He was also the first to hold a chair at the University of Manchester (1948–58) and later worked at the University of West Indies (1959–63). He was also the first to be appointed a full-time professor at the Princeton University (1963–91).
Sir Lewis despite having faced racial discrimination had worked tirelessly and even served for the United Nations, as an advisor to the Governments in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. Later, he also was appointed as the first President of the Caribbean Development Bank. In 1963, the British Government had knighted Sir Lewis for his lifelong achievements in the field of Economics.
The economist breathed his last on 15 June 1991 in Bridgetown, Barbados and was laid to rest in the grounds of the St Lucian community college. Sir Lewis was survived by his wife, Gladys Jacobs, two daughters – Elizabeth Lewis and Barbara Virgil and four brothers – Stanley Lewis, Earl Lewis of Trinidad, Allen Montgomery Lewis and Victor Lewis of St Lucia.
