Henry Louis Smith (1859–1951) was the ninth president of Davidson College and the first president to not be an ordained

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

minister. Originally from

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...

, Smith graduated from Davidson in 1881 but returned as a professor of physics before becoming president in 1901. It was during his time as a professor that Smith and a group of students created one of the first x-ray images in America. During his administration, Smith led the construction of many infrastructure projects, including the establishment of the first electric light plant in town and the construction of several dormitories and academic buildings. Smith left Davidson in 1912 to become president of

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexington ...

and in 1929 would eventually retire in

References

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Information about the x-ray photograph
Davidson College alumni Davidson College faculty Washington and Lee University faculty People from Greensboro, North Carolina Presidents of Davidson College 1859 births 1951 deaths Omicron Delta Kappa founders {{US-academic-bio-stub