Charles Herty
Encyclopedia
Charles Holmes Herty, Sr. (December 4, 1867 – July 27, 1938) was an American
academic, scientist and businessman. Serving in academia as a chemistry professor to begin his career, Herty concurrently promoted collegiate athletics including creating the first varsity football team at the University of Georgia
. His academic research gravitated towards applied chemistry where he revolutionized the turpentine industry in the United States. While serving as the president of the American Chemical Society
, Herty became a national advocate for the nascent American chemical industry and left academia to preside over the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers' Association (SOCMA) and the Chemical Foundation. He was also instrumental in the creation of the National Institutes of Health
. Towards the end of his career, Herty's research and advocacy led to the creation of a new pulp industry
in the Southern United States
that utilized southern pine
trees to create newsprint
.
, in 1867, Herty attended the University of Georgia
(UGA) in Athens
, was a member of the Phi Kappa Literary Society
, as well as a member of the Gamma chapter of the Kappa Alpha Order
, and graduated with a Bachelor of Philosophy
(B.P.) degree in 1886. He continued his studies at Johns Hopkins University
where he earned his Ph.D.
in inorganic chemistry
in 1890 under the direction of Ira Remsen
. Herty's dissertation topic was The Double Halides of Lead and the Alkali-Metals.
Herty married Sophie Schaller of Athens on December 23, 1895, and they had three children: Charles "Holmes", Jr., Frank Bernard and Sophia "Dolly" Dorothea. Holmes became a metallurgist and vice-president of Bethlehem Steel
and was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences
. Frank worked for the Union Gas Company in Brooklyn, New York. Dolly attended Vassar College
as an undergraduate, Cornell University
for her Masters of Science
in botany and returned to Vassar to teach plant physiology.
with a promotion to Adjunct Professor of Chemistry in 1894.
Herty was granted a sabbatical leave for the 1899-1900 academic year. After securing letters of introduction from American colleagues William McMurtrie, Remsen, Edgar Fahs Smith
, and Francis Venable
, Herty left for Europe and interacted with Walther Nernst
, G. Lunge, Otto N. Witt and Alfred Werner
. Herty's European trip provided the stimulus to experiment with Georgia pine trees as a source of paper after learning of the German use of tannenbaume
for that same purpose.
A Witt lecture on the poor processes used by the American Naval stores industry
and the almost certain likelihood that those processes would completely destroy the Longleaf Pine
(Pinus palustris) led Herty to study the naval store industry's use of those trees to produce timber and turpentine
. After engaging in literature and field research to better understand the industry and its processes, Herty confirmed the validity of Witt's claim that the pine species would be completely destroyed. Herty also elucidated massive inefficiencies in the destructive collection processes. After conferring with forester W. W. Ashe of the North Carolina Geological Survey, Herty simplified a cup and gutter system used for many decades in France to combat both problems. The "Herty system" required less forestry expertise and labor, both necessities to insure the method's financial success in the United States.
The initial Herty system utilized two v-shaped galvanized iron gutters to collect the resin. The simplicity of the method allowed it to be taught to the existing workforce in the turpentine industry. Herty's method yielded more resin that was also higher in quality; however, the most important success of this new method was that it lengthened the useful lifetime of the pine trees from only a few years to decades. This extended use not only saved the trees but the naval store industry as well. Herty's less destructive collection method also allowed the trees to eventually be milled as lumber. Herty subsequently moved from an iron gutter to a ceramic one, and his involvement with the Chattanooga Pottery Company in the production of the ceramic gutters eventually led to the creation of the Herty Turpentine Cup Company in 1909.
In November 1901, Herty resigned from UGA due to a dispute with the chair of the department. On January 1, 1902, he joined the United States Bureau of Forestry
.
After continued recruitment efforts by Venable, the president of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
(UNC) at the time, Herty finally accepted a long-offered appointment as the head of that school's chemistry department in January 1905 and served as the Smith Professor of Applied Chemistry, officially beginning his duties in July of that year. In 1908, Herty was appointed the dean of UNC's School of Applied Sciences and served in that position until 1911. During his tenure at UNC, Herty continued to receive numerous job offers from groups including UGA as the Chair of Forestry, the United States Department of Agriculture Bureau of Soils
, the Forest Products Laboratory
, the University of Virginia
, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
; however, Herty remained at UNC.
While on the UNC faculty, Herty was an active member of the American Chemical Society
(ACS) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science
(AAAS) and served as the president of the North Carolina section of the ACS in 1906, chairman of the Division of Physical and Inorganic Chemistry in 1909, councillor-at-large in 1909 and eventually as president of the entire ACS organization from 1915 through 1916. In that same year he joined the American Forestry Association. Herty was also active in Orange County
society and business. He was a member of the county commission and president of the local school board from 1910 until 1916. As part-owner of several local businesses including the Chapel Hill Telephone Company and the Chapel Hill Bank, Herty became a well-known member of the community.
(JIEC) with an annual salary of US$
6,000. Herty moved to New York City
to begin his editorial duties. In addition to those duties, Herty also served as the chairman of the ACS Press and Publicity Committee beginning in 1918 which he leveraged to turn the Committee into the ACS News Service on December 9, 1918. The News Service began publishing the Chemical & Engineering News
in 1924. Herty remained editor of the IJEC through the latter half of 1921.
On October 28, 1921, a group of synthetic organic chemical manufacturers created the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers' Association (SOCMA). As part of that meeting, they also convinced Herty to become president of this new organization and his focus now shifted to the federal government in Washington, D.C.
. Herty also focused on improving the relationship between academia and the organic chemical industry.
In November 1926, Herty resigned from SOCMA to become an adviser to the Chemical Foundation where he would work alongside his long-time friend and collaborator, Francis P. Garvan
, the president of the Foundation from 1919 to 1937.
The Chemical Foundation was created in 1919 to oversee German patents seized by the United States Office of Alien Property during World War I
to aid the growth of the nascent American chemical industry. Garvan and Alexander Mitchell Palmer
were the Alien Property Custodian
s for President Woodrow Wilson
and were tasked with the creation of the foundation.
Another function of the foundation was the promotion of the field of chemistry and its contributions to society. This goal required the identification and funding of chemical research in academia, industry and government. It also required seeking out donors to fund research deemed important. An example of Herty’s efforts occurred in 1928, when Herty worked on behalf of his alma mater, UGA, to fund a research professorship and laboratory equipment for Professor Alfred Scott to study the turpentine-derivative resene.
In 1926, Herty began a professional relationship with U.S. Senator
Joseph Ransdell based on their mutual interest in public health issues and protectionism
. Herty was instrumental in assisting the Senator in the four-year struggle to gain the 1930 passage of the Ransdell Act
which created the National Institute of Health
from the existing Hygenic Laboratory within the United States Public Health Service
.
In 1927, Herty stepped down from his full-time responsibilities at the Foundation to become a chemical consultant to universities, trade associations, municipal governments, and private firms located in the southern U.S.; however, he continued to work on several Foundation initiatives including the Ransdell bill for an annual retainer of US$5,000 through 1930.
Herty formed the Savannah Paper and Pulp Laboratory in Savannah, Georgia
. By 1933, the plant had developed a feasible process for pulp conversion. On March 31, 1933, the first newspaper was printed using paper created with the Herty process. On September 26, 2001 the Savannah lab was named a National Historic Chemical Landmark
(NHCL).
Herty was the first faculty director of athletics at UGA. He also assumed the position of Instructor in Physical Culture in 1894 and was named Physical Director two years later. He led efforts to improve the athletic fields, establish the first campus gymnasium in the basement of Old College, create intramural and varsity baseball teams, and build tennis courts. In 1890, Herty began the UGA football program and coached the team for its inaugural season.
UGA played their first game on January 30, 1892, against Mercer University
in Athens and won, 50–0. The team lost its second game of the season to Auburn
, 10–0, and finished the inaugural season with a record of 1–1. Frank "Si" Herty, the coach's cousin, served as the captain of the team. That first football field would eventually be named Herty Field in honor of the coach. The area became a parking lot in the 1940s; however, it was later converted into a greenspace in 1999.
Herty was also directly involved in the creation of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association
(SIAA), which held its first meeting in Atlanta on December 22, 1894.
, from complications due to a series of heart attacks in the months preceding his death. Services were held at St. John's Episcopal Church in that same city. Herty's body was cremated in Macon, Georgia
and his remains interred in a private ceremony at Memory Hill Cemetery
in Milledgeville.
On June 13, 1938, the Southland Paper Mills, Inc. was organized, the next year the mill site was dedicated to Herty on May 27, 1939, and the first commercial newsprint made of Southern pine started production at this facility on January 17, 1940. The St. Regis Paper Company purchased controlling interest in Southland and eventually purchased it outright in 1977, and in 1984 Champion International Corporation bought St. Regis to become the largest manufacturer of "white paper" and the second largest domestic producer of newsprint. In 2000, Herty was posthumously inducted into the Paper Industry International Hall of Fame.
Herty, Texas
and Herty Elementary School
in that same area are named in his honor. Numerous college buildings are named after Herty including the science building at Georgia College & State University
and the science and agriculture building at Savannah State University
. Other namesakes include a UGA scholarship fund provided by the Alumni Association, the Herty Forest Institute in Waycross, Georgia
, the liberty ship
SS Charles H. Herty
(launched in 1943), and Herty Drive and Herty Field
on the northwest campus of UGA. A plaque with his portrait was also hung by order of the Georgia General Assembly
at the Georgia State Capitol
in 1946. The Charles H. Herty Medal has been awarded annually since 1933 by the Georgia Section of the American Chemical Society. The medal is inscribed with the words pro scientia et patria - Herty 1933 which translates roughly as "for science and country".
The Georgia General Assembly posthumously created the Savannah-based Herty Foundation in 1938 as a state-owned, non-profit organization focused on the pulp and paper industry. This foundation was renamed in 2006 as the Herty Advanced Materials Development Center.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
academic, scientist and businessman. Serving in academia as a chemistry professor to begin his career, Herty concurrently promoted collegiate athletics including creating the first varsity football team at the University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
. His academic research gravitated towards applied chemistry where he revolutionized the turpentine industry in the United States. While serving as the president of the American Chemical Society
American Chemical Society
The American Chemical Society 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 161,000 members at all degree-levels and in all fields of chemistry, chemical...
, Herty became a national advocate for the nascent American chemical industry and left academia to preside over the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers' Association (SOCMA) and the Chemical Foundation. He was also instrumental in the creation of the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
. Towards the end of his career, Herty's research and advocacy led to the creation of a new pulp industry
Pulp and paper industry
The global pulp and paper industry is dominated by North American , northern European and East Asian countries...
in the Southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
that utilized southern pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
trees to create newsprint
Newsprint
Newsprint is a low-cost, non-archival paper most commonly used to print newspapers, and other publications and advertising material. It usually has an off-white cast and distinctive feel. It is designed for use in printing presses that employ a long web of paper rather than individual sheets of...
.
Early life, education and family
Born in Milledgeville, GeorgiaMilledgeville, Georgia
Milledgeville is a city in and the county seat of Baldwin County in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is northeast of Macon, located just before Eatonton on the way to Athens along U.S. Highway 441, and it is located on the Oconee River. The relatively rapid current of the Oconee here made this an...
, in 1867, Herty attended the University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
(UGA) in Athens
Athens, Georgia
Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...
, was a member of the Phi Kappa Literary Society
Phi Kappa Literary Society
The Phi Kappa Literary Society is a college literary society, located at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia.The Society was founded in 1820 by Joseph Henry Lumpkin, later to become the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia and eponym for the , and by William Crabbe, Edwin...
, as well as a member of the Gamma chapter of the Kappa Alpha Order
Kappa Alpha Order
Kappa Alpha Order is a social fraternity and fraternal order. Kappa Alpha Order has 124 active chapters, 3 provisional chapters, and 2 commissions...
, and graduated with a Bachelor of Philosophy
Bachelor of Philosophy
Bachelor of Philosophy is the title of an academic degree. The degree usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects...
(B.P.) degree in 1886. He continued his studies at Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
where he earned his Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in inorganic chemistry
Inorganic chemistry
Inorganic chemistry is the branch of chemistry concerned with the properties and behavior of inorganic compounds. This field covers all chemical compounds except the myriad organic compounds , which are the subjects of organic chemistry...
in 1890 under the direction of Ira Remsen
Ira Remsen
Ira Remsen was a chemist who, along with Constantin Fahlberg, discovered the artificial sweetener saccharin. He was the second president of Johns Hopkins University.-Biography:...
. Herty's dissertation topic was The Double Halides of Lead and the Alkali-Metals.
Herty married Sophie Schaller of Athens on December 23, 1895, and they had three children: Charles "Holmes", Jr., Frank Bernard and Sophia "Dolly" Dorothea. Holmes became a metallurgist and vice-president of Bethlehem Steel
Bethlehem Steel
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation , based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was once the second-largest steel producer in the United States, after Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based U.S. Steel. After a decline in the U.S...
and was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
. Frank worked for the Union Gas Company in Brooklyn, New York. Dolly attended Vassar College
Vassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
as an undergraduate, Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
for her Masters of Science
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in botany and returned to Vassar to teach plant physiology.
Early academic and professional life
Upon completing his doctoral studies in 1890, Herty returned to Georgia as an assistant Chemist at the Georgia Agricultural Experiment Station which was temporarily located in Athens at the time. In 1891, he became an instructor in the UGA Chemistry Department in Franklin CollegeFranklin College of Arts and Sciences
The Franklin College of Arts and Sciences is the founding college of the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, United States. The college was named in honor of Benjamin Franklin.-History:...
with a promotion to Adjunct Professor of Chemistry in 1894.
Herty was granted a sabbatical leave for the 1899-1900 academic year. After securing letters of introduction from American colleagues William McMurtrie, Remsen, Edgar Fahs Smith
Edgar Fahs Smith
Edgar Fahs Smith was an American scientist who is best known today for his interests in the history of chemistry...
, and Francis Venable
Francis Preston Venable
Francis Preston Venable was a chemist, educator, and president of the University of North Carolina . His father, Charles Scott Venable, was aide-de-camp to Gen. Robert E...
, Herty left for Europe and interacted with Walther Nernst
Walther Nernst
Walther Hermann Nernst FRS was a German physical chemist and physicist who is known for his theories behind the calculation of chemical affinity as embodied in the third law of thermodynamics, for which he won the 1920 Nobel Prize in chemistry...
, G. Lunge, Otto N. Witt and Alfred Werner
Alfred Werner
Alfred Werner was a Swiss chemist who was a student at ETH Zurich and a professor at the University of Zurich. He won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1913 for proposing the octahedral configuration of transition metal complexes. Werner developed the basis for modern coordination chemistry...
. Herty's European trip provided the stimulus to experiment with Georgia pine trees as a source of paper after learning of the German use of tannenbaume
Fir
Firs are a genus of 48–55 species of evergreen conifers in the family Pinaceae. They are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range...
for that same purpose.
A Witt lecture on the poor processes used by the American Naval stores industry
Naval stores industry
The naval stores industry collects, processes, and markets forest products created from the oleoresin of particular types of pine tree , the slash pine and the longleaf pine...
and the almost certain likelihood that those processes would completely destroy the Longleaf Pine
Longleaf Pine
Pinus palustris, commonly known as the Longleaf Pine, is a pine native to the southeastern United States, found along the coastal plain from eastern Texas to southeast Virginia extending into northern and central Florida....
(Pinus palustris) led Herty to study the naval store industry's use of those trees to produce timber and turpentine
Turpentine
Turpentine is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin obtained from trees, mainly pine trees. It is composed of terpenes, mainly the monoterpenes alpha-pinene and beta-pinene...
. After engaging in literature and field research to better understand the industry and its processes, Herty confirmed the validity of Witt's claim that the pine species would be completely destroyed. Herty also elucidated massive inefficiencies in the destructive collection processes. After conferring with forester W. W. Ashe of the North Carolina Geological Survey, Herty simplified a cup and gutter system used for many decades in France to combat both problems. The "Herty system" required less forestry expertise and labor, both necessities to insure the method's financial success in the United States.
The initial Herty system utilized two v-shaped galvanized iron gutters to collect the resin. The simplicity of the method allowed it to be taught to the existing workforce in the turpentine industry. Herty's method yielded more resin that was also higher in quality; however, the most important success of this new method was that it lengthened the useful lifetime of the pine trees from only a few years to decades. This extended use not only saved the trees but the naval store industry as well. Herty's less destructive collection method also allowed the trees to eventually be milled as lumber. Herty subsequently moved from an iron gutter to a ceramic one, and his involvement with the Chattanooga Pottery Company in the production of the ceramic gutters eventually led to the creation of the Herty Turpentine Cup Company in 1909.
United States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass...
.
After continued recruitment efforts by Venable, the president of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
(UNC) at the time, Herty finally accepted a long-offered appointment as the head of that school's chemistry department in January 1905 and served as the Smith Professor of Applied Chemistry, officially beginning his duties in July of that year. In 1908, Herty was appointed the dean of UNC's School of Applied Sciences and served in that position until 1911. During his tenure at UNC, Herty continued to receive numerous job offers from groups including UGA as the Chair of Forestry, the United States Department of Agriculture Bureau of Soils
National Cooperative Soil Survey
The National Cooperative Soil Survey in the United States is a nation-wide partnership of federal, regional, state, and local agencies and institutions...
, the Forest Products Laboratory
Forest Products Laboratory
The Forest Products Laboratory is the national research laboratory of the United States Forest Service, which is part of USDA. Since its opening in 1910, the FPL has provided scientific research on wood, wood products and their commercial uses in partnership with academia, industry, tribal, state,...
, the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
; however, Herty remained at UNC.
While on the UNC faculty, Herty was an active member of the American Chemical Society
American Chemical Society
The American Chemical Society 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 161,000 members at all degree-levels and in all fields of chemistry, chemical...
(ACS) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
(AAAS) and served as the president of the North Carolina section of the ACS in 1906, chairman of the Division of Physical and Inorganic Chemistry in 1909, councillor-at-large in 1909 and eventually as president of the entire ACS organization from 1915 through 1916. In that same year he joined the American Forestry Association. Herty was also active in Orange County
Orange County, North Carolina
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2010 census, the population was 133,801. Its county seat is Hillsborough...
society and business. He was a member of the county commission and president of the local school board from 1910 until 1916. As part-owner of several local businesses including the Chapel Hill Telephone Company and the Chapel Hill Bank, Herty became a well-known member of the community.
Later professional life
After serving two terms as the ACS president (1915 and 1916), Herty resigned his UNC position after being unanimously elected as the first full-time editor of the ACS publication Journal of Industrial and Engineering ChemistryIndustrial & Engineering Chemistry Research
Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research , is a peer-reviewed scientific journal, published under this name since 1970 by the American Chemical Society; however, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry is a forerunner of Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research. From 1911-1916 it was edited by...
(JIEC) with an annual salary of US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
6,000. Herty moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to begin his editorial duties. In addition to those duties, Herty also served as the chairman of the ACS Press and Publicity Committee beginning in 1918 which he leveraged to turn the Committee into the ACS News Service on December 9, 1918. The News Service began publishing the Chemical & Engineering News
Chemical & Engineering News
Chemical & Engineering News is a weekly magazine published by the American Chemical Society, providing professional and technical information in the fields of chemistry and chemical engineering...
in 1924. Herty remained editor of the IJEC through the latter half of 1921.
On October 28, 1921, a group of synthetic organic chemical manufacturers created the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers' Association (SOCMA). As part of that meeting, they also convinced Herty to become president of this new organization and his focus now shifted to the federal government in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. Herty also focused on improving the relationship between academia and the organic chemical industry.
In November 1926, Herty resigned from SOCMA to become an adviser to the Chemical Foundation where he would work alongside his long-time friend and collaborator, Francis P. Garvan
Francis P. Garvan
Francis Patrick Garvan was an American lawyer and long-time president of the Chemical Foundation. The American Chemical Society awarded him its highest honor, the Priestley Medal, in 1929. Garvan established what is now known as the American Chemical Society's Francis P. Garvan-John M...
, the president of the Foundation from 1919 to 1937.
The Chemical Foundation was created in 1919 to oversee German patents seized by the United States Office of Alien Property during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
to aid the growth of the nascent American chemical industry. Garvan and Alexander Mitchell Palmer
Alexander Mitchell Palmer
Alexander Mitchell Palmer was Attorney General of the United States from 1919 to 1921. He was nicknamed The Fighting Quaker and he directed the controversial Palmer Raids.-Congressional career:...
were the Alien Property Custodian
Alien Property Custodian
An Alien Property Custodian was an office within the Government of the United States during World War I and again during World War II, serving as a Custodian of Enemy Property to property that belonged to US enemies.-World War I:...
s for President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
and were tasked with the creation of the foundation.
Another function of the foundation was the promotion of the field of chemistry and its contributions to society. This goal required the identification and funding of chemical research in academia, industry and government. It also required seeking out donors to fund research deemed important. An example of Herty’s efforts occurred in 1928, when Herty worked on behalf of his alma mater, UGA, to fund a research professorship and laboratory equipment for Professor Alfred Scott to study the turpentine-derivative resene.
In 1926, Herty began a professional relationship with U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Joseph Ransdell based on their mutual interest in public health issues and protectionism
Protectionism
Protectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between states through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and a variety of other government regulations designed to allow "fair competition" between imports and goods and services produced domestically.This...
. Herty was instrumental in assisting the Senator in the four-year struggle to gain the 1930 passage of the Ransdell Act
Ransdell Act
The Ransdell Act , reorganized, expanded and redesignated the Laboratory of Hygiene as the National Institute of Health....
which created the National Institute of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
from the existing Hygenic Laboratory within the United States Public Health Service
United States Public Health Service
The Public Health Service Act of 1944 structured the United States Public Health Service as the primary division of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare , which later became the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The PHS comprises all Agency Divisions of Health and...
.
In 1927, Herty stepped down from his full-time responsibilities at the Foundation to become a chemical consultant to universities, trade associations, municipal governments, and private firms located in the southern U.S.; however, he continued to work on several Foundation initiatives including the Ransdell bill for an annual retainer of US$5,000 through 1930.
Herty formed the Savannah Paper and Pulp Laboratory in Savannah, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
. By 1933, the plant had developed a feasible process for pulp conversion. On March 31, 1933, the first newspaper was printed using paper created with the Herty process. On September 26, 2001 the Savannah lab was named a National Historic Chemical Landmark
ACS National Historical Chemical Landmarks
The National Historic Chemical Landmarks Program was launched by the American Chemical Society in 1992 and has recognized more than 60 landmarks to date. The program celebrates the centrality of chemistry...
(NHCL).
Athletics
Herty was the first faculty director of athletics at UGA. He also assumed the position of Instructor in Physical Culture in 1894 and was named Physical Director two years later. He led efforts to improve the athletic fields, establish the first campus gymnasium in the basement of Old College, create intramural and varsity baseball teams, and build tennis courts. In 1890, Herty began the UGA football program and coached the team for its inaugural season.
UGA played their first game on January 30, 1892, against Mercer University
Mercer University
Mercer University is an independent, private, coeducational university with a Baptist heritage located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Mercer is the only university of its size in the United States that offers programs in eleven diversified fields of study: liberal arts, business, education, music,...
in Athens and won, 50–0. The team lost its second game of the season to Auburn
1892 Auburn Tigers football team
The 1892 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the 1892 college football season. It was the first college football team fielded by the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama, now known as Auburn University. The squad was first coached by George Petrie...
, 10–0, and finished the inaugural season with a record of 1–1. Frank "Si" Herty, the coach's cousin, served as the captain of the team. That first football field would eventually be named Herty Field in honor of the coach. The area became a parking lot in the 1940s; however, it was later converted into a greenspace in 1999.
Herty was also directly involved in the creation of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association
The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association was one of the first collegiate athletic conferences in the United States. Twenty-seven of the current Division I FBS football programs were members of this conference at some point, as were at least 19 other schools...
(SIAA), which held its first meeting in Atlanta on December 22, 1894.
Football
Death and legacy
Herty died on July 27, 1938, in Savannah, GeorgiaSavannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
, from complications due to a series of heart attacks in the months preceding his death. Services were held at St. John's Episcopal Church in that same city. Herty's body was cremated in Macon, Georgia
Macon, Georgia
Macon is a city located in central Georgia, US. Founded at the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is part of the Macon metropolitan area, and the county seat of Bibb County. A small portion of the city extends into Jones County. Macon is the biggest city in central Georgia...
and his remains interred in a private ceremony at Memory Hill Cemetery
Memory Hill Cemetery
Memory Hill Cemetery is an American cemetery in Milledgeville, Georgia. The cemetery opened in 1804.-Notable Interments:*Thomas Petters Carnes, United States Representative for Georgia and state court judge....
in Milledgeville.
Herty, Texas
Herty, Texas
Herty is an unincorporated community in north central Angelina County, Texas, United States. It is located three miles east of Lufkin at the intersection of State Highway 103 and Farm to Market Road 842.- History :...
and Herty Elementary School
Lufkin Independent School District
Lufkin Independent School District is a public school district based in Lufkin, Texas .In 2009, the school district was rated "academically acceptable" by the Texas Education Agency.-Primary/Elementary Schools:*Anderson Elementary School...
in that same area are named in his honor. Numerous college buildings are named after Herty including the science building at Georgia College & State University
Georgia College & State University
Georgia College & State University is a public liberal arts university in Milledgeville, Georgia, United States, with approximately 7,000 students...
and the science and agriculture building at Savannah State University
Savannah State University
Savannah State University is a four-year, state-supported, historically black university located in Savannah, Georgia. Savannah State holds the distinction as the oldest public historically black university in Georgia...
. Other namesakes include a UGA scholarship fund provided by the Alumni Association, the Herty Forest Institute in Waycross, Georgia
Waycross, Georgia
Waycross is the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Ware County in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population was 14,725 at the 2010 Census. A small portion of the city extends into Pierce County. According the U.S...
, the liberty ship
Liberty ship
Liberty ships were cargo ships built in the United States during World War II. Though British in conception, they were adapted by the U.S. as they were cheap and quick to build, and came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output. Based on vessels ordered by Britain to replace ships torpedoed by...
SS Charles H. Herty
SS Charles H. Herty
SS Charles H. Herty was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. It was named after American chemist Charles Herty.-References:...
(launched in 1943), and Herty Drive and Herty Field
Herty Field
Herty Field, also known as Alumni Athletic Field, was the original on-campus playing venue for football and baseball at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. It opened in the Fall of 1891 and hosting the first UGA home football game against Mercer University on January 30, 1892.Before its...
on the northwest campus of UGA. A plaque with his portrait was also hung by order of the Georgia General Assembly
Georgia General Assembly
The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, being composed of the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia Senate....
at the Georgia State Capitol
Georgia State Capitol
The Georgia State Capitol, in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States, is an architecturally and historically significant building. It has been named a National Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is the main office building of Georgia's government...
in 1946. The Charles H. Herty Medal has been awarded annually since 1933 by the Georgia Section of the American Chemical Society. The medal is inscribed with the words pro scientia et patria - Herty 1933 which translates roughly as "for science and country".
The Georgia General Assembly posthumously created the Savannah-based Herty Foundation in 1938 as a state-owned, non-profit organization focused on the pulp and paper industry. This foundation was renamed in 2006 as the Herty Advanced Materials Development Center.
External links
- Charles Herty Birthplace State Historical Marker
- Herty Field State Historical Marker
- Pioneer Turpentining Experiment State Historical Marker
- http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/UGA/hertyfield.htm Herty Field pictures:1899 and 1999, Carl Vinson Institute of GovernmentCarl Vinson Institute of GovernmentThe Carl Vinson Institute of Government is an organization that works closely with officials and employees from state and local governments in Georgia and internationally to help them achieve their missions and improve public service...
, University of Georgia]