Charles Scott Venable (March 19, 1827 – August 11, 1900) was a

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

, and

military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent c ...

. In mathematics, he is noted for authoring a series of publications as a

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

professor.

Early life

He was born at Longwood House in

Farmville, Virginia Farmville is a town in Prince Edward County, Virginia, Prince Edward and Cumberland County, Virginia, Cumberland counties in the U.S. state, Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Prince Edward County, Virginia, Prince Edward County. ...

, and graduated from

Hampden–Sydney College Hampden–Sydney College (H-SC) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Men's colleges in the United States, college for men in Hampden Sydney, Virginia. Founded in 1775, it is the oldest privatel ...

, founded by his Patriot ancestor Nathaniel Venable, at the age of 15. He was a member of

Beta Theta Pi Beta Theta Pi (), commonly known as Beta, is a North American social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. One of North America's oldest fraternities, , it consist ...

fraternity while at

Hampden-Sydney College Hampden Sydney is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince Edward County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,450 at the 2010 census. Hampden Sydney is the home of Hampden–Sydney College, a private all-male college that is the tenth ...

Career

For several years following his graduation, he served as a mathematics tutor at the college. He received further education at the

as well as in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. He became a professor in mathematics and astronomy in Virginia and

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. Following the war, Venable resumed his career as an educator.

Civil War

Venable was present at the firing on

Fort Sumter Fort Sumter is a historical Coastal defense and fortification#Sea forts, sea fort located near Charleston, South Carolina. Constructed on an artificial island at the entrance of Charleston Harbor in 1829, the fort was built in response to the W ...

in April 1861, serving as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in the South Carolina state

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

. He then fought as a private in Company A, 2nd South Carolina Infantry. In the spring of 1862, Venable joined the staff of presidential military advisor General

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

as an aide-de-camp with the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. He continued serving on Lee's staff when the general took command of the

Army of Northern Virginia The Army of Northern Virginia was a field army of the Confederate States Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed agains ...

on June 1, 1862. He served on Lee's staff from the

Peninsula Campaign The Peninsula campaign (also known as the Peninsular campaign) of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March to July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The oper ...

to Appomattox Court House and was promoted to lieutenant colonel. According to family legend (and some history books) Lee called Venable "Faithful old Venable." Grave_of_Charles_S

Personal life

Following the war, Venable resumed his career as an educator. During a visit to

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

, he was invited to the castle of

Heros von Borcke Johann Heinrich August Heros von Borcke (July 23, 1835 – May 10, 1895) was a Prussian cavalry officer and writer. Today, he is best known for his enduring memoir, ''Memoirs of the Confederate War for Independence'' (1866), which recounts h ...

, the former aide-de-camp to General J.E.B. Stuart. Venable died in Charlottesville in 1900. He was buried at the

University of Virginia Cemetery The University of Virginia Cemetery and Columbarium is a cemetery on the grounds of the University of Virginia, located at the intersection of McCormick Road and Alderman Road. In operation since 1828, during the earliest days of the university, ...

in Charlottesville.

Legacy

Venable Elementary School opened in 1925 near the University of Virginia. In December 2022, the

Charlottesville City Public Schools Charlottesville City Schools, also known as Charlottesville City Public Schools, is the school division that administers public education in the United States city of Charlottesville, Virginia. The current superintendent is Royal A. Gurley, Jr ...

Naming of Facilities Committee recommended changing the school name to Trailblazer Elementary. In September 2024, the name was officially changed. https://vinegarhillmagazine.com/venable-elementary-renamed-trailblazer-elementary-in-honor-of-desegregation-pioneers/

Notes

References

Inventory of the Charles S. Venable Papers, 1862-1894
in the Southern Historical Collection,

UNC-Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolling students in 1795 ...

.
"Charles Scott Venable"
, Leander McCormick Observatory Museum, Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia. * Johnson, Francis W., ''A History of Texas and Texans: Volume III'', The American Historical Society, Chicago and New York, 1914
p 1235, 1236
* Sifakis, Stewart. ''Who Was Who in the Confederacy'', Facts on File (November 1989). . {{DEFAULTSORT:Venable, Charles S. 1827 births 1900 deaths 19th-century American mathematicians American astronomers Confederate States Army officers People from Prince Edward County, Virginia People of Virginia in the American Civil War University of Virginia faculty University of Virginia alumni Burials at the University of Virginia Cemetery Mathematicians from Virginia Southern Historical Society members