The year 2016 marks the centennial of the first approach to describe all types of chemical bonds by means of a unified theory, that of the electron pair, as proposed by the American chemist Gilbert Newton Lewis (1875-1946). Lewis probably became the best known chemist of the twentieth century. Any highschool student anywhere has heard of him and uses concepts such as Lewis acids and bases. His seminal ideas, albeit modified with time, remain a source of inspiration as the basis of much that came later. Lewis established his theory in a series of articles, the most important dating from 1916. His life and achievements are the stuff of much study and debate, as this essay aims to show.
Keywords:
Gilbert Lewis; chemical bonding; centennial of electron pair theory, bonding theory
