This prominent economist was born in Saint Lucia when it was still part of what were known as the British Windward Islands. A gifted student, he was accepted to the prestigious London School of Economics where he gained a doctorate degree and became a member of staff. He then taught in Manchester for ten years until the government of Ghana appointed Lewis as their first economic advisor following independence. Lewis’ area of speciality was economic growth in developing countries, something that brought him to the forefront of his profession at a time when many former European colonies were gaining their independence. Lewis was a professor at Princeton University for twenty years and the “Lewis Model” still being explored by contemporary developing economies. In 1979, he became the first person of African descent to win the Nobel Prize in Economics.