﻿ Burwell Boykin Lewis

Burwell Boykin Lewis

Burwell Boykin Lewis ( * July 7, 1838 in Montgomery, Alabama, † October 11, 1885 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama) was an American lawyer and politician (Democratic Party).


Burwell Boykin Lewis moved with his parents to Mobile (Alabama ). After the death of his parents he lived with his uncle in Montevallo (Alabama ). Lewis attended a private school and graduated in 1857 from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. He studied law in Selma ( Alabama), was admitted to the bar in 1859 and then began to practice in Montevallo. During the American Civil War he served in the Confederate Army, where he served in the 2nd Alabama the rank of captain of cavalry.

Lewis also pursued a political career. He was 1870-1872 Member of the House of Representatives from Alabama. Then he moved in 1872 to Tuscaloosa ( Alabama), where he pursued the iron and coal business. Lewis was elected to the 44th Congress, where he served from March 4, 1875 to March 3, 1877. In his candidacy for the following 45 U.S. Congress, he suffered a defeat, but he was re- elected to the 46th U.S. Congress. There he worked on 4 March 1879 to October 1, 1880, when he resigned to take up the post of President of the University of Alabama. Lewis has held this post until his death in 1885 in Tuscaloosa. He was buried there in the Evergreen Cemetery.