Francis Preston Venable (November 17, 1856 – March 17, 1934) was a chemist, educator, and president of the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

(UNC).

Biography

Born “near Farmville", Prince Edward County, Virginia The National Cyclopedia of American Biography. Vol. XIII. New York James T. White & Co. 1906. Page 245. 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 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 ...

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 The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

, and was elected fellow of the

Chemical Society of London The Chemical Society was a scientific society formed in 1841 (then named the Chemical Society of London) by 77 scientists as a result of increased interest in scientific matters. Chemist Robert Warington was the driving force behind its creation. ...

. In 1893, Venable occupied the first endowed chair at UNC, the Mary Ann Smith Professorship. In collaboration with undergraduate students William R. Kenan, Jr. and Thomas Clarke and former student John Motley Morehead III, he identified

calcium carbide Calcium carbide, also known as calcium acetylide, is a chemical compound with the chemical formula of . Its main use industrially is in the production of acetylene and calcium cyanamide. The pure material is colorless, while pieces of technica ...

, a discovery of great commercial importance that led to the development of

acetylene Acetylene (Chemical nomenclature, systematic name: ethyne) is a chemical compound with the formula and structure . It is a hydrocarbon and the simplest alkyne. This colorless gas is widely used as a fuel and a chemical building block. It is u ...

and the founding of

Union Carbide Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) is an American chemical company headquartered in Seadrift, Texas. It has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company since 2001. Union Carbide produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more f ...

. In 1899, he was elected vice president of the chemistry section of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

. 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 The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...

, a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

, and he served as president of the

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is a regional educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. As of 2022, the organization oversees ap ...

. 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 from pneumonia in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

on March 17, 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

External links

* * 1856 births 1934 deaths 20th-century American chemists University of Virginia alumni Leaders of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Presidents of the American Chemical Society 19th-century American chemists {{US-academic-administrator-1850s-stub Members of the American Philosophical Society