Anthony Lewis, the author and influential columnist for The New York Times, has died. He was 85 years old.
The New York Times is reporting that Lewis died at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts on Monday, March 25. His wife, former chief justice of the Massachussets Supreme Judicial Court Margaret Marshall, told the newspaper that Lewis died from complications of renal and heart failure. Lewis had suffered from Parkinson’s disease. In addition to his wife, he is survived by three children and seven grandchildren.
Lewis grew up in New York City and later attended Harvard University, where he was the editor of the Harvard Crimson. He won two Pulitzer Prizes during his career, one for exposing the U.S. government’s McCarthy-era loyalty program and one for his coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Lewis taught at the Columbia University graduate school of journalism and lectured at Harvard during the 70s and 80s. He authored or co-authored multiple books including Gideon’s Trumpet and Freedom for the Thought That We Hate: A Biography of the First Amendment. Lewis’ New York Times op-ed columns often focused on legal issues surrounding topics such as free speech and justice.