Background
Henry Clay White was born on December 30, 1848 at Baltimore, Md. , the son of Levi S. , and Louisa (Brown) White.
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Henry Clay White
Edit ProfileEducation
After attending the schools of Baltimore, he entered the University of Virginia, where he obtained his chemical training under John W. Mallet, graduating in 1870.
Career
From 1870 to 1872 he taught chemistry successively at the Maryland Institute, the Peabody Institute, Baltimore, and St. John's College, Annapolis. In 1872 he was appointed professor of chemistry at the University of Georgia (which included the Georgia State College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts); his connection with this institution continued during the remainder of his life. In 1874 he delivered a "Report on the Complete Analysis of the Cotton Plant, " published in the Proceedings of the Georgia State Agricultural Society . February 1874 (1874), which was a notable treatment of the subject. In addition to his work as university professor he served as state chemist of Georgia from 1880 to 1890. An important duty of this position was the regulatory control of the purity of the fertilizers sold to the planters of Georgia; as a result of this activity he took a prominent part in helping to establish a society of agricultural chemists. After several preliminary meetings of prominent chemists at Washington (1880), Boston (1880), Cincinnati (1881), and Atlanta (1884), the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists was formed at Philadelphia, September 9, 1884; in the early work of this organization White was a leading figure. In 1890 he was appointed president of the Georgia State College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts, and from this time on his chief interests were in the field of education. He organized the Farmers' Institutes of Georgia and was unremitting in his efforts to improve conditions in the agricultural population of the state. He resisted successfully, but at great personal sacrifice, the long attempts to separate the College of Agriculture from the University of Georgia. His strenuous efforts in this cause against strong political influences prevented the disruption of the University. He was president of the Association of American Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations in 1897-98 and was chairman of its executive committee from 1902 to 1907. In these offices he was instrumental in bringing about a greater degree of cooperation between the state experiment stations and the federal Department of Agriculture. He was chemist of the Georgia Experiment Station from 1888 to 1914 and vice-director from 1890 to 1913. He collaborated with the United States Department of Agriculture in cotton investigations in 1895-96 and in dietary studies in 1903-05. In 1907 he resigned as president of the Georgia State College but continued in service as professor of chemistry in the University until his death, which occurred at his home in Athens, Ga. White was the recipient of many honors. He was a member of the American Chemical Society, of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and of the Georgia Academy of Science; he was also a fellow of the London Chemical Society, a corresponding member of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, and an honorary member of the Belgian Academy of Science. He was president of the Georgia Peace Society in 1911. In addition to his "Analysis of the Cotton Plant" he was the author of Elementary Geology of Tennessee (1875), with W. G. McAdoo; Lectures and Addresses; "Manuring of Cotton, " in The Cotton Plant (1896); Abraham Baldwin (1926); and numerous bulletins, scientific papers, and literary articles.
Achievements
Connections
On December 17, 1872, he married Ella F. Roberts of Chester County, Pa.
