Sir Samuel Lewis CMG, BL (1843–1903) was a Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...

an mayor of Freetown

Freetown

Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean located in the Western Area of the country, and had a city proper population of 772,873 at the 2004 census. The city is the economic, financial, and cultural center of...

 and lawyer. Sir Samuel Lewis was the first West Africa

West Africa

West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...

n ever knighted and was the third Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...

an to qualify as a barrister. Sir Samuel Lewis was the first mayor of Freetown after the Freetown Municipal Council was established. In 1896, he was made a knight, the first West African to achieve such an honor a year after he had been appointed mayor.

Background

Sir Samuel Lewis was one of nine children (eight sons and a daughter) of an Aku businessman (in real estate and agricultural products) Elderman William Lewis of Oxford Street in the Freetown Municipal Council and wife Fanny. His siblings, Ebenezer Albert, Christopher Bright Lewis, William Jr, John, Josiah William, Emmanuel, Jacob and Caroline Matilda Lumpkin were all political leaders and heads of the colonial government of Freetown. Sir Samuel Lewis travelled to England by way of the relationship between his father William and the captain of a merchant ship that was shipping goods from Freetown to England.

Political Career and Legal luminary

Sir Samuel Lewis and other Eldermen in the formed Freetown Municipal Council were able to convince the Colonial Government with civil protest to relinquish power and the day to day running of the Municipal Council by Black Africans.

Source

• Short biographies of Sierra Leonean 'heroes'