Lewis Henry Berens (18?? – ), was a businessman, political theorist, lecturer and author in the colony of South Australia. He has frequently (and incorrectly) been referred to as Louis Behrens.
History
Berens was one of several sons of Henry Berens (c. 1821 – 21 June 1882) and Julia Berens, of Birmingham, England.
Berens was a partner of Berens Brothers, jewellers and importers of Montefiore Chambers, in Adelaide on Waymouth Street and then Stephens Place from 1878 to 1892, and a member of the consortium that initiated the retail venue Adelaide Arcade in 1885.
He was involved with Ignatius Singer and Moritz Wolff Judell (c. 1846–1900) with producing the newspaper Our Commonwealth, 1886–1888. He was an active and enthusiastic single taxer and free trader, involved with the Land Nationalization Society. About 1886 Berens, Singer, Henty Taylor, Max Lewin, and some others began agitation in Adelaide for the taxation of land values as endorsed by Henry George, who in 1890 visited Adelaide. Singer and Behrens were instrumental in founding the Adelaide Democratic Club in 1887.
He was an unsuccessful candidate for the electoral district Sturt in the South Australian House of Assembly in 1890.
He wrote the novel The Story of My Dictatorship (1893) with Ignatius Singer., as well as Towards The Light (1903), an argumentation concerning ethics.
Mr. and Mrs. Berens left Adelaide for London about 1893.
Other interests
He was a competitive chess player. After leaving for London he maintained correspondence with the Australian amateur historian Alfred T. Saunders.
Publications
Singer's co-authorship mentioned once in ten citations. First edition, published anonymously by Bliss, Sands & Foster of London (1893) is now rare. A paperback facsimile has been produced by the University of California. The book is considered a standard tract by Henry George Societies. In 1911 a comedy based on the book was staged in Melbourne. Berens, Lewis Henry Toward the light; elementary studies in ethics and economics, London, S. Sonnenschein & co., 1903
Family
Berens married Rebecca Solomon, daughter of John Solomon JP (c. 1807 – 25 July 1889), on 4 September 1888. Their son Herbert Arthur Berens (17 May 1889 – ) was born in Adelaide and married Elsie Krause in London in 1921. John Solomon was a businessman of Alberto Terrace, Sydney, with no clear links to the Adelaide Solomon family.
Several Berens brothers, sons of Henry Berens (c. 1821 – 21 June 1882) and Julia Berens, of Birmingham, England, lived on Pulteney Street, Adelaide. The eldest, Bernard, died on 19 October 1880.