Louis Mirvish (ca. 1897-1960) was born in Lithuania. He was one of the first two medical graduates of the University of Cape Town, taking his degrees in medicine and surgery in 1922. He lectured in physiology at UCT until 1929 before doing postgraduate studies in London, Berlin and Vienna. He returned to South Africa in 1932 and practised as a physician in Cape Town. He became head of the Department of Gastro-enterology at Groote Schuur Hospital. He was very involved in Jewish and cultural affairs, in particular, the South African Jewish Museum, which he was instrumental in establishing.