Nisha Rathode (Editor)

Francis Preston Venable

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Nationality
  
American

Role
  
Occupation
  
Chemist, Educator

Spouse
  
Sallie Manning (m. 1884)


Term
  
1900-1913

Parents
  
Charles S. Venable

Name
  
Francis Venable

Successor
  
Edward Kidder Graham

Francis Preston Venable

Born
  
November 17, 1856

Alma mater
  
University of VirginiaUniversity of Gottingen

Known for
  
9th President of the University of North Carolina

Predecessor
  
Edwin Anderson Alderman

Died
  
March 17, 1934, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States

Education
  
University of Virginia, University of Gottingen

Books
  
The Development of the Per, A Brief Account of Radio‑activity, Zirconium and Its Compoun, A short history of chemistry

Francis Preston Venable (November 17, 1856 – March 17, 1934) was a chemist, educator, and president of the University of North Carolina (UNC). Born “near FarmVille, Prince Edward county, Virginia to Charles Scott Venable, aide-de-camp to Gen. Robert E. Lee from 1862 to 1865 and professor of mathematics at the University of Virginia from 1865 to 1896. and Margaret Cantey (McDowell) Venable.

In 1879, Venable earned a master's degree in chemistry from the University of Virginia. He was offered the chair in the chemistry department at UNC in 1880. A year later, he earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Göttingen, and was elected fellow of the Chemical Society of London.

In 1893, Venable occupied the first endowed chair at UNC, the Mary Ann Smith Professorship. In collaboration with undergraduate students William Rand Kenan, Jr, and Thomas Clarke and former student John Motley Morehead III, he identified calcium carbide, a discovery of great commercial importance that led to the development of acetylene and the founding of Union Carbide. In 1899, he was elected vice president of the chemistry section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Venable served as president of UNC from 1900 to 1914. He took a one-year leave of absence due to illness in 1914, during which time Edward Kidder Graham served as acting president. In 1905, he was elected president of the American Chemical Society, and he served as president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Venable resigned as president of UNC in 1914, was appointed Kenan Professor in 1918, and retired from teaching in 1930.

Venable was married to Sallie Charlton Manning in 1884, with whom he had 5 children. He died in 1934 and was buried in the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery.

Published works

  • A Course in Qualitative Chemical Analysis (1883)
  • A Short History of Chemistry (1894)
  • The Development of the Periodic Law (1896)
  • Inorganic Chemistry (1898)
  • A Brief Account of Radio-Activity (1917)
  • Zirconium and Its Compounds (1922)
  • References

    Francis Preston Venable Wikipedia


    Similar Topics