View source for Francis Preston Venable

{{Short description|American chemist and educator}}
{{Use mdy dates|date = September 2019}}
{{Use American English|date = September 2019}}
{{Infobox person
|name          = Francis Preston Venable
|image         = Francis Preston Venable.jpg 
|image_size    = 
|caption       = 
|birth_name    =
|birth_date    = {{Birth date|1856|11|17}}
|birth_place   = [[Farmville, Virginia]], U.S.
|death_date    = {{Death date and age|1934|3|17|1856|11|17}}
|death_place   = [[Richmond, Virginia]], U.S.
|death_cause   = 
|resting_place = 
|resting_place_coordinates = 
|nationality   = [[United States|American]]
|other_names   = 
|known_for     = 9th President of the University of North Carolina
|education     =
|alma_mater    = [[University of Virginia]]<br>[[University of Göttingen]]
|employer      = 
|occupation    = [[Chemist]], [[Educator]] 
|title         = 
|networth      = 
|height        = 
|term          = 1900-1913
|predecessor   = Edwin Anderson Alderman
|successor     =  Edward Kidder Graham
|party         = 
|boards        = 
|spouse        = Sallie Charlton Manning
|partner       = 
|children      = 
|parents       = 
|relatives     = 
|signature     = Signature of Francis Preston Venable (1856–1934).png
|website       = 
|footnotes     = 
}}

'''Francis Preston Venable''' (November 17, 1856 &ndash; March 17, 1934) was a chemist, educator, and president of the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill|University of North Carolina]] (UNC). 

==Biography==
Born “near Farmville", Prince Edward County, Virginia <ref name="auto">The National Cyclopedia of American Biography. Vol. XIII. New York James T. White & Co. 1906. Page 245.</ref> to [[Charles S. Venable|Charles Scott Venable]], [[aide-de-camp]] to [[Robert E. Lee|Gen. Robert E. Lee]] from 1862 to 1865 and professor of mathematics at the [[University of Virginia]] from 1865 to 1896,<ref name="auto"/> 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|Chemical Society of London]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bursey |first1=Maurice M. |title=Venable, Francis Preston (1856-1934), chemist |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1301723 |website=[[American National Biography]] |language=en |doi=10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1301723 |date=1999}}</ref>

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]], 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]], a member of the [[American Philosophical Society]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=APS Member History |url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=Francis+P.+Venable&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced |access-date=2024-01-26 |website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref> 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 from pneumonia in [[Richmond, Virginia]] on March 17, 1934, and was buried in the [[Old Chapel Hill Cemetery]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102963730/dr-f-p-venable-succumbs-here-to/ |title=Dr. F. P. Venable Succumbs Here to Pneumonia |newspaper=[[Richmond Times-Dispatch]] |page=11 |date=1934-03-18 |access-date=2022-06-01 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

==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==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Gutenberg author | id=35791| name=Francis Preston Venable}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Francis Preston Venable}}

{{University of North Carolina leaders}}
{{Presidents of the American Chemical Society}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Venable, Francis Preston}}
[[Category:1856 births]]
[[Category:1934 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American chemists]]
[[Category:University of Virginia alumni]]
[[Category:Leaders of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]]
[[Category:Presidents of the American Chemical Society]]
[[Category:19th-century American chemists]]


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[[Category:Members of the American Philosophical Society]]