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David Kellogg Lewis (September 28, 1941 – October 14, 2001) was an American analytic philosopher. He is considered one of the most influential philosophers of the latter half of the 20th century. Lewis is most famous for his theory of modal realism, but he also made significant contributions to the philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, general metaphysics, epistemology, and philosophical logic. Lewis was born in Oberlin, Ohio, to a Professor of Government at Oberlin College and a distinguished medieval historian. He displayed exceptional intellect from a young age, attending college lectures in chemistry while still in high school. He attended Swarthmore College and spent a year at Oxford, where he was tutored by Iris Murdoch and attended lectures by prominent philosophers like Gilbert Ryle and H.P. Grice. This year at Oxford was pivotal in his decision to pursue philosophy and shaped his career as an analytic philosopher. Lewis earned his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1967, studying under W.V.O. Quine, whose views he later challenged. His connection with Australia began during his time at Harvard when he took a seminar with J.J.C. Smart, a leading Australian philosopher. Lewis maintained a strong connection with the Australian philosophical community, visiting almost annually for over thirty years. He taught at UCLA and Princeton University during his career.