Crusading for Chemistry

In this biography of Charles Holmes Herty (1867–1938), Germaine M. Reed portrays the life and work of an internationally known scientist who contributed greatly to the industry of his native region and who played a significant role in the development of American chemistry. As president of the American Chemical Society, editor of its industrial journal, adviser to the Chemical Foundation, and as a private consultant, Herty promoted southern industrial development through chemistry. On a national level, he promoted military preparedness with the Wilson administration, lobbied Congress for protection of war-born chemical industries, and sought cooperation and research by business, government, and universities.

In 1932, he established a pulp and paper laboratory in Savannah, Georgia, to prove that cheap, fast-growing southern pine could replace Canadian spruce in the manufacture of newsprint and white paper. As a direct result of Herty’s research and his missionary-like zeal, construction of the south’s first newsprint plant was begun near Lufkin, Texas, in 1938.