Francis P. Garvan
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and long-time president of the Chemical Foundation. 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...
awarded him its highest honor, the Priestley Medal
Priestley Medal
The Priestley Medal is the highest honor conferred by the American Chemical Society and is awarded for distinguished service in the field of chemistry. Established in 1922, the award is named after Joseph Priestley, the discoverer of oxygen who immigrated to the United States of America in 1794...
, in 1929. Garvan established what is now known as the American Chemical Society's Francis P. Garvan-John M. Olin Medal
Garvan-Olin Medal
The Francis P. Garvan–John M. Olin Medal is an annual award that recognizes distinguished service to chemistry by women chemists. The Award is offered by the American Chemical Society , and consists of a cash prize and a medal. The medal was designed by Margaret Christian Grigor.Any individual...
to "recognize distinguished service to chemistry by women chemists" in 1936.
Biography
Garvan graduated from Yale UniversityYale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1897 (A.B.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
) and from New York Law School
New York Law School
New York Law School is a private law school in the TriBeCa neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. New York Law School is one of the oldest independent law schools in the United States. The school is located within four blocks of all major courts in Manhattan. In 2011, New York Law School...
in 1899 (LL.B.
Bachelor of Laws
The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...
). He had a distinguished career as a lawyer, and served as: an Assistant District Attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
in 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...
(from 1900 to 1910); 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:...
(the official who seized and managed enemy property in the United States during and after 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...
including, notably, patents and other assets of the German dye and chemical industries); a director of the New York office of the U.S. Bureau of Investigation; an Assistant United States Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
; and Dean
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
of the Fordham University School of Law
Fordham University School of Law
Fordham University School of Law is a part of Fordham University in the United States. The School is located in the Borough of Manhattan in New York City, and is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city.-Overview:According to the U.S. News & World Report, 1,516 J.D. students attend...
(from 1919 to 1923). He was also a trustee of The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America is a private university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by the U.S. Catholic bishops...
and was himself a Roman Catholic.
In 1919, President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
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...
appointed Garvan President of the Chemical Foundation, a post he held until his death. At the time, the Chemical Foundations income was 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....
8.6 million; however, no dividends were paid to any shareholder and the chief officers received no salaries for their work.
Under Garvan's leadership, the Chemical Foundation supported the first nine years of the Journal of Chemical Education
Journal of Chemical Education
The Journal of Chemical Education is a monthly peer-reviewed academic journal available in both print and electronic versions. It is published by the Division of Chemical Education of the American Chemical Society and was established in 1924...
, as well as the microbiology journal Stain Technology (which came about from an idea of Garvan's). In the early 1920s, the Chemical Foundation provided over $100,000 to the Commission on the Standardization of Biological Stains, although some thought much of these funds came directly from Garvan himself. Garvan and the Chemical Foundation played a role in the founding of the American Institute of Physics
American Institute of Physics
The American Institute of Physics promotes science, the profession of physics, publishes physics journals, and produces publications for scientific and engineering societies. The AIP is made up of various member societies...
, and, in collaboration with Charles Herty
Charles Herty
Charles Holmes Herty, Sr. 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...
, the founding 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...
.
With financial support of the Chemical Foundation Garvan acted as an active promoter of the Chemurgy
Chemurgy
Chemurgy is a branch of applied chemistry that is concerned with preparing industrial products from agricultural raw materials. The word "chemurgy" was coined by chemist William J. Hale and first publicized in his 1934 book The Farm Chemurgic, the concept was mildly well-developed by the early...
-Movement. He supported in close collaboration with Henry Ford
Henry Ford
Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
and others a farm-based production of ethanol (alcohol), which finally helped to supply synthetic rubber during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Garvan and his wife, Mabel Brady Garvan, sponsored the American Chemical Society's Prize Essay Contest for seven years in memory of their daughter. They also supported the Chemical Foundation as it gave libraries across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
chemistry reference works. The Garvans' donations to these causes are estimated at one million dollars.
Fordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
, Notre Dame, and Yale
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
Universities and Trinity College
Trinity College (Connecticut)
Trinity College is a private, liberal arts college in Hartford, Connecticut. Founded in 1823, it is the second-oldest college in the state of Connecticut after Yale University. The college enrolls 2,300 students and has been coeducational since 1969. Trinity offers 38 majors and 26 minors, and has...
. Garvan died November 7, 1937.
Garvan was the son of Patrick and Mary (Carroll) Garvan. In 1906 his sister, Genevieve Garvan, married prominent 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...
businessman, Nicholas Frederic Brady
Nicholas Frederic Brady
Nicholas Frederic Brady was a New York City businessman and philanthropist who was the first American to receive the Roman Catholic Church honor, the Ordine Supremo del Christo. He was the holder of several papal honors including being a papal duke.Born in Albany, New York, the son of...
. On June 9, 1910, Francis Patrick Garvan married Nicholas Brady's sister, Mabel. The couple had seven children, six of whom lived to adulthood:
- Patricia Garvan (d. 1918)
- Francis Patrick Garvan, Jr.
- Mabel Brady Garvan (Mrs. Robert Philip Noble)
- Peter Dunne Garvan
- Marcia Anne Garvan
- Flora Brady Garvan (Mrs. Francis D. Winslow 2d)
- Anthony Nicholas Brady Garvan
Mabel Garvan continued to be involved with the Garvan-Olin Medal for thirty years after her husband's death. In addition to the Garvans' chemical philanthropy, they donated 10,000 art objects to Yale University, today known as the Mabel Brady Garvan Collection at the Yale University Art Gallery
Yale University Art Gallery
The Yale University Art Gallery houses a significant and encyclopedic collection of art in several buildings on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Although it embraces all cultures and periods, the Gallery possesses especially renowned collections of early Italian painting,...
. It is "one of the most comprehensive collections of early American arts and crafts in the nation."