Lewis was born in Frenchtown, New Jersey, to Aaron Rittenhouse Lewis and a German-born teacher, Catherine Hoffman. He worked in advertising as an illustrator, and he used that experience to promote AMORC, through print ads, booklets and magazine illustrations. Lewis first learned of the Rosicrucians through his interest in paranormal phenomena. His membership of a group investigating and exposing more than 50 fraudulent mediums led to the formation of the New York Institute for Psychical Research, of which he was elected president at the age of 20. He later related that he was initiated into a Rosicrucian order during a trip to France. Given the mission to both bring Rosicrucian ideas back to America, and to promote them in a modern way, Lewis established AMORC, becoming its first Imperator. He translated from French and German what became the Order's first canon of lessons in mysticism, and spent the rest of his life working ceaselessly on AMORC's behalf. Lewis engineered and supervised the creation of Rosicrucian Park, in San Jose, California, designing its unique buildings - the Egyptian-style temple, the fifth planetarium in the United States, a science laboratory, lecture auditorium, library, and administrative offices. Today his internationally recognised Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum on Naglee Avenue is a popular tourist attraction. His second wife was Martha. They were married at least by 1917, according to his WW1 draft card, when they were living in Flushing, New York. In 1926, they sailed on the SS Majestic to Europe and made the first AMORC Grand Tour of Egypt. reported en route in The Mystic Triangle of December 1926. Among Lewis's prodigious talents was a penchant for audio-visual technology. With a confident voice well suited to public speaking and broadcasting, he had inaugurated talk-back radio and directed a popular children's radio club in Tampa, Florida. In San Jose, one of Lewis's programs, "The Pristine Church", was broadcast from Rosicrucian Park on Sundays, with easy-listening sermons on interfaith and secular topics. His recordings of talks, chants and other items of interest to Rosicrucian students are still in demand by AMORC lodges around the world. Under his nomen mysticum Sar Alden, Lewis was one of the three directors of FUDOSI representing America, Europe and the Orient. That union of the world's authentic initiatic societies aimed to counter plagiarism of their ancient symbols and rituals by remnant groups and rivals. Lewis held a number of earned and honorary ordinations, titles and degrees, many granted in recognition of his goodwill work. His son, Ralph Maxwell Lewis, an accomplished philosopher and author, succeeded him in 1939 as the second Imperator of AMORC. One of Ralph Lewis's many books is the biography of his father, Cosmic Mission Fulfilled.
Inventions
According to 's Mysterious Inventions of Dr. Lewis page, H. Spencer Lewis built several scientific devices. They included:
Luxatone
The Luxatone or Color Organ was a device which converted audio signals into colours, displayed on a triangular screen. Dr. Lewis used it to demonstrate mystical and philosophical ideas. The audio signal was input with the aid of a microphone. A booklet titled "The Story of Luxatone – The Master Color Organ" was printed and sent to AMORC members and to newspapers.
This device was a prototype of a Geiger counter and was built in the 1930s.
Sympathetic Vibration Harp
The Sympathetic Vibration Harp was built by Dr. Lewis to demonstrate the AMORC's principle of sympathetic vibration.
Alchemy
In addition to his other works, on June 22, 1916 Lewis hosted what was announced as a "transmutation" of zinc into gold – a demonstration of classic alchemical principles, in New York City. A team of AMORC Grand Masters, members, one scientist and one journalist assembled, a chosen few bringing selected ingredients, which were then mixed in a brief procedure. The scientist declared the results to have the "properties of gold", and an account appeared in the American Rosae Crucis.
Lemurians
In 1931 Lewis, under the pen name Wisar Spenle Cerve, wrote a book about the hidden Lemurians of Mount Shasta that a bibliographic note on Mount Shasta described as "responsible for the legend's widespread popularity."
