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Key local figure

Francis Preston Venable

Francis Preston Venable was offered UNC's chair of chemistry in 1880, co-founded the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society in 1883, identified calcium carbide in 1893 and was president of the university from 1900 to 1914. He then returned to teaching, was named a Kenan Professor in 1918 and retired in 1930; Venable Hall was dedicated in 1925.

Source: UNC Libraries: F.P. Venable Papers, 1838-1946

Also found in catalogs as F. P. Venable, F. P (Francis Preston) Venable.

1856–1934 · Dates from the Library of Congress · On the Friends’ Local Authors roster as F. P. Venable → · Library of Congress authority record ↗

10 works about Francis Preston Venable are indexed here.

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Francis Preston Venable, 1900
Francis Preston Venable, 1900

Life and Orange County connections

Storylines this person is part of, in date order. Each has its own page.

StorylineThe University's summer schools for teachers, 1877–19071877–1907 · 8 events · For three decades the university used its summers to train the state's teachers, though the work stopped and started. The General Assembly set up a Summer Normal School there in 1877 to train white teachers, and President Kemp Battle and the Board of Education admitted white women, though state money could not be spent on them. Its last session was in 1884. In 1894 Edwin A. Alderman opened a Summer School for Teachers and Students, and in 1900, by Battle's account, the first summer term of degree courses began. The trustees' executive committee held no summer school for teachers in 1905, but N. W. Walker revived it in 1907 and directed it for twenty-seven years. StorylineThe University builds under Venable, 1900–19091900–1909 · 19 events · Under Francis P. Venable, elected president in 1900, the University spent a decade building. Julian S. Carr paid for the Carr Building, a dormitory, and in 1900-01 the University finished its water works, sewer system and heating plant and completed the Alumni Building and the Mary Ann Smith Dormitory. After Professor Charles Baskerville described the crowded chemistry laboratories, the legislature in 1905 gave $50,000 for a chemical laboratory, finished in 1906. Judge William Preston Bynum gave a gymnasium, and the trustees agreed to buy the University Inn for dormitories. A new president's house, an infirmary and the YMCA building followed in 1907, Davie Hall opened in 1908, and in 1909 Gerrard Hall was refitted so that daily chapel could resume. StorylineHazing at the University and the death of Isaac Rand, 1906–19131906–1913 · 8 events · The death of freshman Isaac William Rand in a sophomore hazing in September 1912 led to criminal trials and a state law against hazing. In 1906 a freshman set upon by three sophomores had shot one of them, and in March 1912 sophomores threw rocks at a freshman room and fired a shot into it. Near midnight on September 13 sophomores took Rand and stood him on a barrel; he fell onto broken glass and died. Four students were arrested for manslaughter, and the faculty dismissed four more and suspended twelve. The 1913 legislature made hazing a crime. That March a jury found three defendants guilty, and their families paid the fees and took them home the same day. StorylineThe University’s Carnegie library and Hill Music Hall, 1906–19301906–1930 · 12 events · Andrew Carnegie's gift, first offered in 1905 as $50,000 and later raised to $55,000, built the University a new library. Construction began in October 1906, after President Venable reported that the $50,000 endowment for the library had been raised, and the Grand Lodge of Masons laid the cornerstone at commencement on June 1, 1907. The building opened to students that fall and served as the main library until Wilson Library opened in 1929. The old library, remodeled with an auditorium and an organ, most of the cost given by the Hill family, was dedicated as the music building on November 14, 1930. In 1931 it was renamed for John Sprunt Hill. StorylineThe University’s building program, 1923–19251923–1925 · 23 events · The 1923 legislature gave the University $1,650,000 for buildings, and the trustees divided it among men's dormitories, a chemistry building, the remodeling of old buildings, a water supply and a women's building. Old West was gutted and rebuilt as a modern dormitory, and Old East, found unsafe, was saved inside a concrete frame. The Weekly called 1923 by far the greatest building year in the town's history. Three dormitories went up across the old Raleigh road, the metal-walled Tin Can athletic building opened, and Swain Hall was rebuilt after a fire in 1924. The chemistry department moved into the new Venable Hall in 1925, and the women's building opened that fall.

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 55 dated events in the chronology →

  1. James Phillips keeps weather records at Chapel Hill From 1854 to 1862 Professor James Phillips kept weather records at Chapel Hill. They survive in the Southern Historical Collection alongside Chapel Hill records kept from December 1879 to 1882 by Professors W. B. Phillips and Francis Preston Venable. People: James Phillips, Francis Preston Venable, William Battle Phillips Place: Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Southern Historical CollectionSearch the index · UNC-Chapel Hill Libraries Catalog: Chapel Hill (N.C.) weather records, 1854-1862; 1879-1882
  2. Francis P. Venable is offered the chair of chemistry at the university Venable, a University of Virginia chemistry graduate then studying in Germany, was offered the university's chair of chemistry in 1880. He taught at Chapel Hill until he retired in 1930. Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · UNC Libraries: F.P. Venable Papers, 1838-1946
  3. Francis P. Venable keeps Chapel Hill's weather record for the federal government In 1883 Venable was taking barometer, thermometer and humidity readings three times a day at Chapel Hill, with daily high and low temperatures, rainfall, wind and cloud, and reporting them to Washington. For about six weeks of June and July he had the student James Lee Love live in his house and keep the record for him. People: James Lee Love Place: former James Phillips house, Chapel HillSearch the index · James Lee Love, Recollections (1920-1921), scan p. 203
  4. Venable co-founds the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society Venable was a co-founder and the first president of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society, a society of university scientists named for the geologist Elisha Mitchell. People: Elisha Mitchell Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · UNC Libraries: F.P. Venable Papers, 1838-1946
  5. Francis P. Venable brings tennis to Chapel Hill Venable laid out a tennis court in the grove south of his house about 1884, when sport at the university was otherwise limited to casual baseball and an old-style kicking football. People: Francis Preston Venable Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 513
  6. Francis P. Venable marries Sallie Manning at the Chapel of the Cross Professor Francis Preston Venable married Sallie Carlton Manning, daughter of John Manning, at the Chapel of the Cross in Chapel Hill. People: John Manning Place: Chapel of the Cross, Chapel Hill · Also named: Sallie Carlton ManningSearch the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), November 8, 1884, p. 3
  7. Students hold the first of a series of gymnastic contests On Thanksgiving Day students competed on the horizontal and parallel bars, ladders, Indian clubs and swings and in a half-mile race, a tug of war and a high jump, with Francis P. Venable calling the events. It was the first of a series of such contests. People: Francis Preston Venable Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 366
  8. Venable and student William R. Kenan Jr. demonstrate calcium carbide in Person Hall Chemistry professor Francis P. Venable and student William R. Kenan Jr. demonstrated the industrial uses of calcium carbide, the source of acetylene gas, in Person Hall. People: William Rand Kenan Jr., Francis Preston Venable Place: Person Hall, UNC campus, Chapel Hill · Also named: William R. Kenan Jr.Search the index · UNC Libraries, History on the Hill: Chronological List of Events
  9. The university lays off a new athletic field with a grandstand President Venable's report of February 1902 lists a new athletic field with a stand among the improvements of the previous three years. People: Francis Preston Venable Place: UNC campus, Chapel HillSearch the index · DocSouth: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 607
  10. The university starts a course in dyeing and bleaching A course in dyeing and bleaching was added to chemistry, with Thomas Clarke, who had studied the subject for two years in Germany, running the laboratory and Francis P. Venable giving the lectures. People: Francis Preston Venable Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: Thomas ClarkeSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 568
  11. Charles Baskerville heads UNC's chemistry department When Francis P. Venable became university president in 1900, Baskerville succeeded him as chairman of the chemistry department, Smith Professor and director of the chemical laboratory, posts he held until 1904. People: Charles Baskerville, Francis Preston Venable Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · NCpedia: Baskerville, Charles
  12. Eben Alexander becomes the university's first dean of the faculty Back from diplomatic service in Greece, Eben Alexander was named the first dean of the faculty under President Francis P. Venable in 1900, heading the College of Liberal Arts and graduate studies and supervising the library until poor health forced a leave in 1909. People: Eben Alexander, Francis Preston Venable Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · Carolina Story: Eben Alexander (1851-1910) and Alexander Residence Hall
Show all 55 dated events
  1. Francis P. Venable serves as president of the university Elected president in 1900, Venable enlarged the student body, faculty and campus and built an administration for a growing institution. He asked for leave in 1913 and resigned in 1914, returning to teaching and research. Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · UNC Libraries: F.P. Venable Papers, 1838-1946 · Also: The Daily Tar Heel, September 29, 1983, p. 7
  2. The university opens its first summer term of regular courses For the first time the university offered a twelve-week summer term of regular courses that counted toward a degree, opening on June 12, 1900, alongside the four-week Summer School for Teachers. Tuition was twenty dollars. People: M. C. S. Noble, Francis Preston Venable Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 590
  3. Orange County teachers are offered the university summer school and pay tied to exam scores The board accepted Dr. Venable's offer to admit county teachers to the University Summer School and set pay by the July examination: $35 a month for an average of 95 and $40 for 98. People: Francis Preston Venable Place: Orange CountySearch the index · DigitalNC: Irene Oliver Pender, A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983 (1983), p. 54
  4. The University Summer School for Teachers opens with more than thirty Orange teachers The University's Summer School for Teachers opened on June 13, 1904 for a session to close July 8, with President Francis P. Venable giving the address of welcome in Gerrard Hall. The News counted more than thirty Orange County teachers among the students and expected the largest session in years. People: Francis Preston Venable Place: Gerrard Hall, University of North Carolina, Chapel HillSearch the index · The News (Chapel Hill), June 16, 1904, p. 1
  5. The General Assembly votes $50,000 for a chemistry building After Professor Charles Baskerville described the crowded chemistry laboratories, the legislature raised the university's yearly appropriation to $45,000 and gave $50,000 for a chemical laboratory. Venable called the building grant a new departure. People: Charles Baskerville, Francis Preston Venable, Richard H. Battle, Victor Silas Bryant Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 647
  6. Andrew Carnegie offers the university $50,000 for a library Andrew Carnegie's offer of $50,000 for a library building, if an equal sum were raised for its upkeep, was announced in the university chapel on March 31, 1905. At commencement President Venable told the alumni that about $27,000 was in sight, and a faculty and alumni committee was named to raise the rest. People: Andrew Carnegie, Francis Preston Venable, Eben Alexander, Charles Alphonso Smith Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 647 · Also: Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), April 6, 1905, p. 2
  7. Judge W. P. Bynum gives the university a gymnasium Judge William Preston Bynum paid for a gymnasium on the campus in memory of his grandson and namesake, a student who died before graduating, and presented it to the trustees by letter in May 1905. Dr. Richard H. Lewis accepted it at commencement. People: Francis Preston Venable, Richard H. Lewis Place: Bynum Gymnasium · Also named: William Preston Bynum, William Preston Bynum Jr.Search the index · Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 644
  8. The university enrolls its largest freshman class The university's fall enrollment ran 60 ahead of the year before, and its freshman class of 200 was reported as the largest in its history; President Francis P. Venable called them as fine a set of young men as he had seen. People: Francis Preston Venable Place: University of North Carolina, Chapel HillSearch the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), October 26, 1905, p. 2
  9. The trustees' visiting committee backs new buildings and urges an infirmary At the June 1906 trustees meeting the visiting committee of John W. Fries, Henry A. London and Bennehan Cameron backed President Venable's call for $2,000 more a year and his building plans, urged an infirmary worthy of the university, and found student conduct very good. People: Bennehan Cameron, Francis Preston Venable Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: John W. Fries, Henry A. LondonSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), pp. 656-657
  10. The university reports the Carnegie library endowment raised and the gift paid On University Day 1906 President Venable reported that the $50,000 endowment for the new library had been raised and Andrew Carnegie's $50,000 subscription paid. Construction began that month. People: Andrew Carnegie, Francis Preston Venable Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 660
  11. A new president's house is completed The university finished a new residence for its president in 1907 at a cost of about $15,000, on high ground in Chapel Hill. People: Francis Preston Venable Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 672
  12. Kemp P. Battle and Thomas Hume retire on Carnegie pensions At the 1907 commencement President Venable announced the resignations of Kemp P. Battle, professor of history and former president, and Thomas Hume, professor of English, both placed on the Carnegie Foundation pension list. People: Francis Preston Venable, Thomas Hume, Kemp Plummer Battle Place: Memorial HallSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 668
  13. UNC trustees approve the United Daughters of the Confederacy's request to build a Confederate monument on the campus The board of trustees approved a request from the North Carolina Division of the UDC for a monument on the campus. President Francis P. Venable took part in the planning and fund-raising and later committed university money when UDC and alumni contributions fell short. People: Francis Preston Venable Place: Chapel HillUNC A to Z (UNC Press): Confederate Monument (Silent Sam)
  14. The university creates a School of Applied Science with Charles H. Herty as dean At the 1908 commencement President Venable announced that the trustees had made Charles H. Herty dean of the School of Applied Science and James E. Latta professor of electrical engineering. People: Francis Preston Venable, Charles H. Herty Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: James E. LattaSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 681
  15. Gerrard Hall is refitted and daily chapel resumes for every undergraduate With money Venable got from the legislature, Gerrard Hall's interior was renovated so that all undergraduates fit, and Dean Graham set a half-hour program before noon with ministers, faculty, trustees and other guest speakers. Upperclassmen had been excused from chapel for want of seats. People: Edward Kidder Graham, Francis Preston Venable Place: Gerrard Hall, UNC, Chapel HillSearch the index · Howard E. Covington Jr., Fire and Stone: The Making of the University of North Carolina under Presidents Edward Kidder Graham and Harry Woodburn Chase (2018), p. 59
  16. Venable names Edward Kidder Graham dean of the College of Liberal Arts At 32 the youngest of the senior faculty, Graham took over the English department and replaced Eben Alexander, who was given a year's leave, as dean, with first responsibility for student discipline. People: Edward Kidder Graham, Francis Preston Venable, Eben Alexander Place: UNC, Chapel HillSearch the index · Howard E. Covington Jr., Fire and Stone: The Making of the University of North Carolina under Presidents Edward Kidder Graham and Harry Woodburn Chase (2018), p. 59
  17. Woodrow Wilson speaks in Gerrard Hall on Robert E. Lee's centennial On January 19, 1909, the university marked the hundredth birthday of Robert E. Lee in Gerrard Hall, with Princeton president Woodrow Wilson as the speaker. People: Francis Preston Venable, Robert E. Lee, Woodrow Wilson Place: Gerrard HallSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 685
  18. Venable reports university enrollment near 800, with Orange sending the most students President Venable's report to the university trustees put enrollment at nearly 800, about 92 percent from North Carolina, with Orange County sending 33 students, the most of any county. The trustees were told resources for the year came to $150,623.74 against $147,190.46 spent, and an increase of $30,000 in the annual appropriation was asked. People: Francis Preston Venable Place: University of North Carolina, Chapel HillSearch the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), January 28, 1909, p. 4
  19. Alumni pledge forty-one endowed scholarships At the 1909 alumni luncheon, classes and local alumni groups promised to endow forty-one scholarships of $1,000 each. Julian S. Carr gave five named for J. Johnston Pettigrew for sons of Confederate soldiers, and Edgar Love two named for Cornelia Phillips Spencer. People: Julian S. Carr, Francis Preston Venable, Francis D. Winston Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: Edgar LoveSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 689
  20. John Wilson begins designing UNC's Confederate monument After the monument committee weighed competing designs, it chose Canadian sculptor John Wilson's design for the Confederate soldier statue planned for the UNC campus. Wilson began the work in 1910, using sixteen-year-old Harold Langlois of Boston as his model. People: John A. Wilson, Francis Preston Venable Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: Harold Langlois, John WilsonSearch the index · UNC Libraries: Timeline (A Guide to Resources About UNC's Confederate Monument)
  21. Graham proposes a faculty committee on university extension The committee formed at Graham's urging started a high school debating contest and a statewide high school track meet that drew hundreds of students to Chapel Hill by 1913. President Venable gave it little support, seeing extension as a drain on teaching at home. People: Edward Kidder Graham, Francis Preston Venable Place: UNC, Chapel HillSearch the index · Howard E. Covington Jr., Fire and Stone: The Making of the University of North Carolina under Presidents Edward Kidder Graham and Harry Woodburn Chase (2018), p. 75
  22. The Peabody Fund gives $40,000 for an education building At the 1911 commencement Venable announced a $40,000 gift from the Peabody Fund trustees for a School of Education building. The legislature that year gave $87,000 a year for upkeep and $50,000 a year for four years for improvements. People: Francis Preston Venable Place: Chapel Hill · Also mentions: School of EducationSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 722
  23. Governor Woodrow Wilson gives the commencement address Woodrow Wilson, governor of New Jersey, spoke at the alumni luncheon and gave the 1911 commencement address in Memorial Hall, and the university made him a Doctor of Laws. People: Francis Preston Venable, Woodrow Wilson Place: Memorial HallSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 724
  24. The medical building, Caldwell Hall, is dedicated On May 8, 1912, the university opened its new medical building and named it Caldwell Hall for its first president. Dr. Richard H. Lewis presented it for the trustees, and Venable and Dean Isaac H. Manning accepted it. People: Francis Preston Venable, Isaac Hall Manning, Richard H. Lewis, Richard Henry Whitehead Place: Caldwell Hall · Also mentions: Caldwell HallSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 731
  25. Freshman Isaac William Rand dies in a hazing incident on the athletic field Taken from his Old East room near midnight by sophomores, the Smithfield freshman was made to stand on a barrel behind Bynum Gymnasium, fell onto broken glass that cut his carotid artery, and died within minutes on the gymnasium steps. Four students were arrested for manslaughter that day after a coroner's inquest, and Governor W. W. Kitchin demanded a full public investigation. People: William W. (William Walton) Kitchin, Francis Preston Venable, Isaac William Rand Place: Athletic field behind Bynum Gymnasium, UNC, Chapel HillSearch the index · Howard E. Covington Jr., Fire and Stone: The Making of the University of North Carolina under Presidents Edward Kidder Graham and Harry Woodburn Chase (2018), p. 6
  26. President Venable reports Isaac Rand's death to the trustees' executive committee Meeting in special session in Governor Kitchin's office on the afternoon of Monday, September 16, 1912, the executive committee of the University's trustees heard President F. P. Venable's report on the hazing death of freshman Isaac William Rand, drawn largely from the account of Rand's roommate, who had been hazed with him. The committee adopted resolutions of sympathy for Rand's family, recalled the trustees' rule that students convicted of hazing be expelled, and noted that the four students involved had been bound over to the Orange County Superior Court on a homicide charge. People: Francis Preston Venable, Isaac William Rand, William W. (William Walton) Kitchin Place: Governor's office, RaleighThe News (Chapel Hill), September 19, 1912, p. 1
  27. Venable's faculty committee reports on the Rand death and the spring hazing After questioning nearly fifty students, the committee gave the trustees a full account of the night Rand died and of the March attack on the freshman cottage. Sixteen more students were punished, four dismissed and twelve suspended for a year, and the trustees' executive committee in Raleigh turned down fathers' appeals. Place: UNC, Chapel HillSearch the index · Howard E. Covington Jr., Fire and Stone: The Making of the University of North Carolina under Presidents Edward Kidder Graham and Harry Woodburn Chase (2018), p. 9
  28. Edward Kidder Graham serves as acting president while Venable is in Europe Graham, head of the English department and dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Chapel Hill, acted as president in 1913 during President Francis P. Venable's absence in Europe. People: Edward Kidder Graham, Francis Preston Venable Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · NCpedia: Graham, Edward Kidder
  29. Smallpox breaks out on the campus In the last weeks of the 1912-13 term President Venable had to deal with an outbreak of smallpox at the university, one of the worries of the year that led him to seek leave. People: Francis Preston Venable Place: UNC, Chapel HillSearch the index · Howard E. Covington Jr., Fire and Stone: The Making of the University of North Carolina under Presidents Edward Kidder Graham and Harry Woodburn Chase (2018), p. 1
  30. The new School of Education building is dedicated Before the 1913 commencement Venable presided at the dedication of the building for the university's new School of Education, later called the Peabody Building. People: Francis Preston Venable Place: Peabody Building, UNC, Chapel HillSearch the index · Howard E. Covington Jr., Fire and Stone: The Making of the University of North Carolina under Presidents Edward Kidder Graham and Harry Woodburn Chase (2018), p. 1
  31. Edward Kidder Graham is elected president of the university The board of trustees elected Graham president by unanimous vote in 1914, succeeding Francis P. Venable. He had been at Chapel Hill since 1899, first as librarian and then through the English department to the deanship. People: Edward Kidder Graham, Francis Preston Venable Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · NCpedia: Graham, Edward Kidder
  32. Francis P. Venable resigns the presidency from London Writing to the trustees from London, Venable resigned on his doctor's warning against another breakdown and asked to return to teaching chemistry. His letter reached board secretary Richard H. Lewis about the same time Graham got a personal note, which Graham called a great shock. People: Richard H. Lewis Place: UNC, Chapel HillSearch the index · Howard E. Covington Jr., Fire and Stone: The Making of the University of North Carolina under Presidents Edward Kidder Graham and Harry Woodburn Chase (2018), p. 86
  33. The University Gymnasium Association votes to give Old Commons Hall to the university Stockholders of the association that had owned the old ballroom, gymnasium and dining hall since 1885 voted at a meeting in Dr. R. H. Lewis's office to deed the building to the university. It was then used for class basketball games and, in 1917, for military drill. People: Kemp Plummer Battle, Francis Preston Venable, Richard H. Lewis Place: Old Commons Hall, East Cameron Avenue, UNC campus, Chapel HillSearch the index · The Tar Heel, October 7, 1915, p. 1 · Also: The Tar Heel, January 14, 1921, p. 1
  34. Edward Kidder Graham is inaugurated president in Memorial Hall A procession of about 1,400 marched to Memorial Hall, where Chief Justice Walter Clark gave Graham the oath and Governor Locke Craig presided. Graham's address cast the state university as the instrument of democracy. Three former presidents walked with him in the procession. People: Edward Kidder Graham, Edwin Anderson Alderman, Francis Preston Venable, Kemp Plummer Battle, Locke Craig, Walter Clark Place: Memorial Hall, UNC, Chapel HillSearch the index · Howard E. Covington Jr., Fire and Stone: The Making of the University of North Carolina under Presidents Edward Kidder Graham and Harry Woodburn Chase (2018), p. 89
  35. Trustees name the first five Kenan professors The trustees adopted President Edward Kidder Graham's recommendations for the new Kenan professorships, funded under the will of Mary Lily Kenan Flagler Bingham. Venable was named Kenan Professor of Chemistry, with H. V. Wilson, Edwin Greenlaw, William MacNider and William Cain. People: Edward Kidder Graham, H. V. Wilson, Robert Worth Bingham, Edwin Greenlaw, William de Berniere MacNider Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: William MacNider, William Cain, Mary Lily Kenan Flagler BinghamSearch the index · UNC Libraries, History on the Hill: Chronological List of Events
  36. Gerrard Hall memorial service for Marvin H. Stacy Students, faculty and friends met in Gerrard Hall to remember Stacy, who had died of influenza on January 21. Former president Francis P. Venable, a childhood friend, and Albert Coates for the students spoke. People: Marvin Hendrix Stacy, Francis Preston Venable, Albert Coates Place: Gerrard HallSearch the index · Howard E. Covington Jr., The Good Government Man: Albert Coates and the Early Years of the Institute of Government (2018), p. 38
  37. The Chapel Hill Graded School graduates a high school class of twenty-four The Chapel Hill Graded School closed its year with commencement exercises in the school auditorium, where N. W. Walker gave the address and F. P. Venable handed diplomas to twenty-four graduates, with two more receiving certificates. People: N. W. Walker, Francis Preston Venable Place: Chapel Hill Graded School auditorium, Chapel HillSearch the index · The News (Chapel Hill), June 8, 1922, p. 4
  38. The trustees' building committee names the new chemistry building for Francis P. Venable The trustees' building committee named the University's new chemistry building, then going up south of the campus, for Francis P. Venable, chemist, former president and a member of the faculty for 44 years. The Weekly called the choice the only one to make. People: Francis Preston Venable Place: New chemistry building (Venable Hall), UNC campus, Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, July 25, 1924, p. 4
  39. The new chemistry building, Venable Hall, is dedicated The university dedicated its new chemistry building in 1925 and named it Venable Hall while Venable was still teaching there. Place: UNC campus, Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Venable HallSearch the index · UNC Libraries: F.P. Venable Papers, 1838-1946
  40. University Day marks fifty years since the 1875 reopening More than ninety representatives of American colleges joined a procession from the Alumni Building to Memorial Hall, where former commissioner of education Philander P. Claxton spoke. In his first address to the university, Governor McLean called it the head of the state's school system and asked it to help smooth religious and social divisions. People: Harry Woodburn Chase, Edwin Anderson Alderman, Francis Preston Venable, Angus W. McLean Place: Memorial Hall, UNC, Chapel Hill · Also named: Philander P. Claxton · Also mentions: Alumni BuildingSearch the index · Howard E. Covington Jr., Fire and Stone: The Making of the University of North Carolina under Presidents Edward Kidder Graham and Harry Woodburn Chase (2018), pp. 329-330 · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, October 16, 1925, p. 4
  41. Commencement is held outdoors at the Davie Poplar, and Chase receives an honorary degree With Memorial Hall torn down, the 339 graduates received diplomas at a stage by the Davie Poplar, seated on the old hall's benches as loudspeakers in the trees carried John H. Finley's address. Honorary degrees went to Ellen Glasgow, Martha Berry, Francis P. Venable and Governor Gardner, and Gardner conferred one on Chase that the trustees had voted without consulting the faculty. People: Harry Woodburn Chase, Ellen Glasgow, Francis Preston Venable, O. Max Gardner Place: Davie Poplar, McCorkle Place, UNC, Chapel Hill · Also named: John Huston Finley, Martha McChesney Berry, Martha Berry · Also mentions: Memorial HallSearch the index · Howard E. Covington Jr., Fire and Stone: The Making of the University of North Carolina under Presidents Edward Kidder Graham and Harry Woodburn Chase (2018), pp. 412-415 · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, June 13, 1930, p. 1
  42. Faculty present Francis P. Venable a loving cup for fifty years of service At the University's commencement, held outdoors near the Davie Poplar, the faculty presented a loving cup to Francis P. Venable, the chemist and former president, for fifty years with the University. Honorary degrees went to Governor O. Max Gardner, President Harry W. Chase, Venable, the novelist Ellen Glasgow and the educator Martha Berry. People: O. Max Gardner, Harry Woodburn Chase, Ellen Glasgow Place: Central lawn near the Davie Poplar, UNC, Chapel Hill · Also named: Martha BerrySearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, June 13, 1930, p. 1
  43. Former university president Francis Preston Venable is buried in the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery Francis Preston Venable (1856-1934), the chemist and university president under whom UNC gained national standing, died in a Richmond sanitarium on March 17, 1934. His funeral was held at his Chapel Hill home the next afternoon, and he was buried in the cemetery. Place: Old Chapel Hill Cemetery, South Road (NC 54) and Country Club Road, Chapel HillSearch the index · NC State Historic Preservation Office: Old Chapel Hill Cemetery, National Register nomination (OR0496), p. 22 · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, March 23, 1934, p. 4

People named in the same events

People named in the same dated entries as Francis Preston Venable, those sharing the most entries first. Each line links one of the shared entries in the chronology, where its source is cited. A shared entry shows these people in the same event, not how well they knew each other.

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Indexed works

Works about or by Francis Preston Venable. Each links to the institution that holds or provides it. Background reading appears below.

Francis Preston Venable of the University of North Carolina

Bursey, Maurice M. · 1989 · Chapel Hill Historical Society

Maurice M. Bursey's biography of Francis Preston Venable (1856 to 1934), chemist and president of the University of North Carolina, published by the Chapel Hill Historical Society in 1989. It also covers the history of the university's chemistry department. Illustrated, 111 pages, with bibliographies.

Included because: Catalog heading in the Chapel Hill PL record: Venable, F. P. 1856-1934.

Reviewed in Isis (1992).

NC Cardinal UNC Duke NC State Chapel Hill PL Durham Library of Congress CH Historical Society

The University of North Carolina, 1900-1930 : the making of a modern university

Wilson, Louis Round, 1876-1979 · 1957 · University of North Carolina Press

Louis Round Wilson's history of the University of North Carolina between 1900 and 1930, published by the University of North Carolina Press in 1957 with illustrated endpapers. Wilson, long the university librarian, follows the presidencies of Francis Preston Venable, Edward Kidder Graham and Harry Woodburn Chase.

Included because: Catalog heading in the UNC record: Venable, F. P. (Francis Preston), 1856-1934.

UNC

Venable Hall, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Graycraft Card Co. (Danville, Va.) · 1915 · Danville, Va.: Graycraft Card Co

Venable Hall at the University of North Carolina, dedicated in 1925 and named for chemistry professor and university president Francis Preston Venable, on a black and white Graycraft Card Co. postcard with a white border. Undated, from the Ellen Payne Odom Genealogy Library Postcard Collection.

Included because: Their name appears in the record.

DPLA

Venable, Alderman, Graham, Battle at Graham's Inauguration

1915

Four University of North Carolina presidents, Francis P. Venable, Edwin A. Alderman, Edward Kidder Graham and Kemp Plummer Battle, pose together at Graham's inauguration in this real photo postcard of 1915. Mailed to R. H. Lewis in Raleigh, it bears a short greeting from K.P.B. and an April 1915 postmark.

Included because: Catalog heading in the DPLA record: Venable, F. P. (Francis Preston), 1856-1934.

DPLA

Specifications for biological laboratory building for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, N.C., Francis P. Venable, president

Frank P. Milburn and Company · 1907 · Frank P. Milburn & Company

Building specifications drawn up by Frank P. Milburn and Company of Washington for a biological laboratory at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, dated 1907, when Francis P. Venable was president. Topics include architecture in Chapel Hill, college buildings and the buildings of the university. It is a working construction document rather than a published account.

Included because: Their name appears in the record.

UNC

Francis Preston Venable, Ph.D. : a brief sketch

1900 · Published under the auspices of the Philanthropic and Dialectic Societies

A brief sketch of Francis Preston Venable, 1856 to 1934, of the University of North Carolina faculty, detached from the North Carolina University magazine, new series, volume 18, number 1, October 1900, and published at Chapel Hill under the auspices of the Philanthropic and Dialectic Societies.

Included because: Catalog heading in the UNC record: Venable, F. P. (Francis Preston), 1856-1934.

UNC
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Edward Victor Zoeller papers, 1885-1934

Zoeller, Edward Victor, 1857-1944 · 1885

Edward Victor Zoeller, 1857 to 1944, worked as a pharmacist, and his papers cover 1885 to 1934. The papers range from pharmacy teaching and societies, including the School of Pharmacy at Chapel Hill, to the Farmers' Oil Mills at Tarboro and the cottonseed oil business. F. P. Venable and Frank W. Hancock are named. In the Southern Historical Collection at UNC, collection 1780.

Included because: Catalog heading in the UNC record: Venable, F. P. (Francis Preston), 1856-1934.

UNC

Chapel Hill (N.C.) weather records, 1854-1862; 1879-1882.

1854

Two volumes of weather observations for Chapel Hill covering 1854 to 1862 and 1879 to 1882, collection 1941-z in the Southern Historical Collection at UNC. The observations are associated with James Phillips, William Battle Phillips and Francis Preston Venable. Observations for Mitchell County are noted as well.

Included because: Catalog heading in the UNC record: Venable, F. P. (Francis Preston), 1856-1934.

UNC

F. P. Venable papers, 1838-1946.

Venable, F. P. (Francis Preston), 1856-1934 · 1838

Personal and professional papers of the chemist Francis Preston Venable, who lived from 1856 to 1934, covering 1838 to 1946, about 2,300 items in 4.5 feet in the Southern Historical Collection at UNC, collection 4368. Subjects range from inorganic chemistry, calcium carbide, acetylene and the Union Carbide Corporation to Civil War maps, European travel, hazing at Chapel Hill and Venable family social life.

Included because: Listed as its creator.

UNC

Venable, Francis: photographs (Chapel Hill Historical Society)

Francis Venable, the UNC chemistry professor, out fishing with children in an undated photograph. It belongs to the faculty and administration portraits in the Chapel Hill Historical Society's Prints and Photographs Collection (CHHS.002).

Included because: Their name appears in the record.

CH Historical Society

Places in this person’s story

Buildings, schools, churches and other sites named in the dated events on this page, the most often named first. The map shows the 12 with a known location.

Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Site locations from the N.C. State Historic Preservation Office survey, Open Orange, Orange County GIS, OpenStreetMap and a few other published sources named on each site’s page; town and community pins show approximate locations.

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Picture: Francis Preston Venable, 1900. Public domain. North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.; via Wikimedia Commons

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