Chemistry at UNC Chapel Hill
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Chemistry Department History
 
 
 
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill opened its doors to its first students on January 15, 1795. The beginning of Chemistry at Chapel Hill dates back to 1818, with the hiring of the first Professor of Chemistry. The central person in the history of the department was Francis P. Venable, who came to Chapel Hill in 1880.
 
Dr. Francis Preston Venable

Dr. Francis Preston Venable about the time of his election to the presidency of the University in 1900.

 
Venable served Chapel Hill for fifty years, and lead the University through difficult times as its President from 1900 - 1914. He also served as President of the American Chemical Society during this period of time in 1905. Venable was appointed to the first endowed Professorship of the University, the Mary Ann Smith Professorship, in 1893, and in 1918, became one of the first Kenan Professors.
 
Person Hall

Person Hall, Chemistry department's early home ~1880 (top). Professor Venable's classes became so popular that Person Hall had to be extended twice (bottom ~1892).

 
After taking residence in the basement of old Playmakers' Theatre and later in Person Hall, Chemistry earned its own quarters. The first building at Chapel Hill to be built with a state appropriation was Chemistry Hall (now known as Howell Hall) completed in 1905. The rapid expansion of the chemistry programs led to the construction of Venable Hall in the 1920's, and an addition to Venable Hall in the 1950's.
 
Chemistry Hall

The first campus building erected from a state appropriation, Chemistry Hall (now Howell Hall) completed in 1905.

 
The 1970's added Kenan laboratories to the Chemistry complex as a state-of-the-art research facility, soon to be followed by Morehead Laboratories in the 1980's, which is home to our undergraduate laboratory program. Currently underway is the construction of a new series of buildings, known as the "Science Complex", which will bring unprecedented facilities for collaborative scientific research to our campus.
 
Venable Hall

Venable Hall before landscaping was completed, constructed in 1925. The factory architecture was praised widely for its efficiency.

 
William Rand Kenan

William Rand Kenan, Jr., in 1893, the year he worked with Dr. Venable to identify calcium carbide.

 
The first Ph.D. degree in Chemistry was awarded in 1883 to one of Venable's students, and to date, more than 1200 Ph.D. degrees and 480 M.S. and M.A. degrees have been awarded, making UNC Chapel Hill one of the premier chemistry graduate educational program in the nation. The first official Chemistry undergraduate degree was awarded in 1907, although many students of Chemistry received undergraduate degrees dating back to the mid 1800's. To date, greater than 4700 undergraduate degrees in Chemistry have been awarded. The local Rho chapter of Alpha Chi Sigma, one of the oldest chapters of this national chemistry fraternity in the nation, was initiated on May 6, 1912. The Rho chapter continues today as one of the largest and most active chapters of National Alpha Chi Sigma (coed) fraternity.
 
John Motley Morehead

John Motley Morehead in 1891, the year he completed his chemistry studies at Chapel Hill.

 
A tradition of collaborative discovery characteristic of our department dates back to Francis Venable. In 1893, Venable, together with two undergraduate students, William Rand Kenan, Jr. and later, Thomas Clarke, assisted former undergraduate student, John Motley Morehead in identification as calcium carbide (Ca2C) a material Morehead had prepared by electrolysis of calcium oxide, aluminum oxide, and carbon. This discovery had tremendous commercial importance, and led to the development of acetylene and the founding of Union Carbide.
 
Joseph Ezekiel Pogue, Jr.

Joseph Ezekiel Pogue, Jr.

 
The philanthropy of John Motley Morehead and William Rand Kenan, Jr., and fortunes associated with this discovery, have greatly benefited the department and the University. It is noteworthy that the third major donor to the University, Joseph Ezekiel Pogue, Jr., was also a chemistry student, and received an A.B. degree in 1906 and an M.S. degree in 1907.
 
 
Dr. Francis Preston Venable
Dr. Venable in later years
 
Venable has as his legacy, the distinction in research, teaching, and service of the current members of this department. Notable discoveries and recent patents by current members of the department are summarized in our research section.
 
 
 

The information on this page has been extracted from the book about the history of our department, "Carolina Chemists - Sketches from Chapel Hill", by Professor Maurice Bursey, The University of North Carolina Press (1982).

 
 
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Department of Chemistry
Campus Box 3290
Caudill and Kenan Laboratories
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3290 USA
Phone: (919) 843-7100

 

Last Updated: July 24, 2007
© 2007 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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