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Francis Patrick Garvan (June 13, 1875 – November 7, 1937) was an American
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
, government official, and long-time president of the Chemical Foundation, Inc. The Chemical Foundation was established to administer in the public interest 4,500 German patents associated with production of synthetic organic chemicals and related pharmaceuticals seized by the
Office of Alien Property Custodian
The Office of 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 to property that belonged to US enemies. The office was created in 1917 by E ...
during the World War I.
Biography
Garvan was born June 13, 1875 in
East Hartford, Connecticut
East Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 51,045 at the 2020 census. The town is located on the east bank of the Connecticut River, directly across from Hartford, Connecticut. It is home to aerospac ...
.
[ He graduated from ]Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
in 1897 (A.B.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
) and from New York Law School
New York Law School (NYLS) is a private law school in Tribeca, New York City. NYLS has a full-time day program and a part-time evening program. NYLS's faculty includes 54 full-time and 59 adjunct professors. Notable faculty members include E ...
in 1899 (LL.B.
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
). He had a career as a lawyer, and then served from 1900 to 1910 as an Assistant District Attorney
In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...
in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Later on, he was appointed Director of Bureau of Investigations in the Office of Alien Property Custodian
The Office of 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 to property that belonged to US enemies. The office was created in 1917 by E ...
in the Treasury Department; an office tasked with confiscation and management of enemy property in the United States during and after World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
including, notably, patents and other assets of the German dye and chemical industries. Garvan became the second Office's Custodian in 1919 after his boss A. Mitchell Palmer
Alexander Mitchell Palmer (May 4, 1872 – May 11, 1936), was an American attorney and politician who served as the 50th United States attorney general from 1919 to 1921. He is best known for overseeing the Palmer Raids during the Red Scare ...
stepped down.
From 1919 to 1923, Garvan also served as Dean
Dean may refer to:
People
* Dean (given name)
* Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin
* Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk
* Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean
Titles
* ...
of the Fordham University School of Law
Fordham University School of Law is the law school of Fordham University. The school is located in Manhattan in New York City, and is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city. In 2013, 91% of the law school's first-time test t ...
. He was a trustee of The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution ...
and was himself a Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
.
Chemical Foundation
In 1919, President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
appointed Garvan as president of the Chemical Foundation of New York, a post he held until his death. The Chemical Foundation Inc., oversaw the distribution of German patents controlled by the Office of the Alien Property. At first, the patents were acquired by the Chemical Foundation from the Office of Alien Property for $250,000 and then leased on the royalty basis to American companies. The proceeds were spent on scientific and medical research, as well as scholarships. At the time, the Chemical Foundations income was US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
8.6 million; however, no dividends were paid to any shareholder and the chief officers received no salaries for their work. The Chemical Foundation suffered from a number of lawsuits filed by German owners, however the Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
ruled that the process of acquisition and distribution of patents was legal.
Under Garvan's leadership, the Chemical Foundation supported the first nine years of the ''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
The American Institute of Physics (AIP) promotes science and the profession of physics, publishes physics journals, and produces publications for scientific and engineering societies. The AIP is made up of various member societies. Its corpora ...
, and, in collaboration with Charles Herty
Charles Holmes Herty Sr. (December 4, 1867 – July 27, 1938) was an American academic, scientist, and businessman. Serving in academia as a chemistry professor to begin his career, Herty concurrently promoted collegiate athletics including creat ...
, the founding of the National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...
.
With financial support of the Chemical Foundation Garvan acted as an active promoter of the Chemurgy
Chemurgy is a branch of applied chemistry concerned with preparing industrial products from agricultural raw materials. The concept developed by the early years of the 20th century. For example, products such as brushes and motion picture film were ...
-movement. He supported in close collaboration with Henry Ford
Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that mi ...
and others a farm-based production of ethanol (alcohol), which finally helped to supply synthetic rubber during World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
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
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
chemistry reference works. The Garvans' donations to these causes are estimated at one million dollars.
Honors and awards
In 1929, the American Chemical Society
The American Chemical Society (ACS) 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 155,000 members at all d ...
awarded him its highest honor, the Priestley Medal
The Priestley Medal is the highest honor conferred by the American Chemical Society (ACS) 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 ...
.
In addition to the Priestley Medal (Garvan remains the only non-scientist to receive it), Garvan (jointly with his wife) was awarded in 1929 the American Institute of Chemists Gold Medal
The American Institute of Chemists Gold Medal is the highest award of the American Institute of Chemists
The American Institute of Chemists (AIC) is an organization founded in 1923 with the goal of advancing the chemistry profession in the Uni ...
. He also received honorary degrees from Fordham, Notre Dame, and Yale
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
Universities and Trinity College Trinity College may refer to:
Australia
* Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales
* Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...
.
He was also awarded the Villanova University Mendel Medal.
In his turn, Garvan established what is now known as the American Chemical Society's Francis P. Garvan - John M. Olin Medal to "recognize distinguished service to chemistry by women chemists" in 1936.[
]
Private life
Garvan was the son of Patrick Garvan, paper merchant and tobacco farmer, and Mary (Carroll) Garvan. In 1906 his sister, Genevieve Garvan, married prominent New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
businessman, Nicholas Frederic Brady
Nicholas Frederic Brady, Duke of the Holy Roman Church (October 27, 1878 – March 27, 1930) was a New York City businessman and philanthropist who was the first American to receive the Roman Catholic Church honor, the Supreme Order of Christ. He ...
. 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) (d. 1972)
#Flora Brady Garvan (Mrs. Francis D. Winslow 2d)
#Anthony Nicholas Brady Garvan
#Peter Dunne Garvan
#Marcia Anne Garvan (d. 2014)
Francis P. Garvan Jr., succeeded his father as the president of the Chemical Corporation in 1939.
In addition to the Garvans' chemical philanthropy, Francis Patrick Garvan and his wife Mabel Brady Garvan were collectors of decorative arts and furniture. They decided to donate the majority of assembled artifacts to Yale University. Over 10,000 art objects donated to Yale University are known today as the Mabel Brady Garvan Collection at the Yale University Art Gallery
The Yale University Art Gallery (YUAG) is the oldest university art museum in the Western Hemisphere. It houses a major encyclopedic collection of art in several interconnected buildings on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. ...
, one of the most complete collections of early American arts and crafts.A Finding Aid to the Francis Patrick Garvan Papers, 1867, 1912-1953, in the Archives of American Art
''Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution''
He died on November 7, 1937. Mabel Garvan continued to be involved with the Garvan-Olin Medal for thirty years after her husband's death.
References
External links
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20180826170126/http://www.ligoldcoast.com/liruins.html Garvin Estate Ruins
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garvan, Francis P.
1875 births
1937 deaths
Yale University alumni
New York Law School alumni
United States Assistant Attorneys General
Catholic University of America trustees
University of Notre Dame people
People associated with the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York)