Thomas Hamilton Lewis

Thomas Hamilton (T.H.) Lewis served as the second president of Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College). He was born December 11, 1852 in Dover, Delaware. In 1872, Lewis entered Western Maryland College as a student and graduated as valedictorian in 1875.

Following his graduation, Lewis was ordained as a preacher and joined the Baltimore Conference of the Methodist Protestant Church. In 1877, he married his WMC classmate, Mary Miranda Ward (daughter of the first college president, J.T. Ward). Together, the couple had six children and seven grandchildren.

In 1882, T.H. Lewis was elected as the first president of the Westminster Theological Seminary, the divinity school operating in association with Western Maryland College. He served in this role for four years until his election as president of college following the resignation of Ward. Lewis was president of WMC for thirty-four years until his resignation in 1920, making him the school’s longest-serving president.

Throughout his tenure at Western Maryland, Lewis was known as an astute administrator, helping to solidify the school’s financial status and expand its operations. Under his stewardship, the college increased its enrollment and constructed several new buildings. Many of these buildings, such as Baker Chapel, Alumni Hall, Peterson Hall, and the President’s House, are still present on campus.

Though effective as an administrator, Lewis was less than popular with the students and faculty, many of whom remembered him as a serious man and tough disciplinarian. Despite this reputation, Lewis was a respected minister, earning an honorary doctorate of divinity from Adrian College at the age of thirty-three.

After Lewis’ resignation from the presidency in 1920, he served as president of the Maryland General Methodist Protestant church, holding that post until 1927. On June 29th, 1929, Lewis died at his home in Washington, D.C. at the age of seventy-six.