Charles Albert Browne Jr. (August 12, 1870 – February 3, 1947) was a sugar

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe t ...

and former head of the Bureau of Chemistry, which later became the

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...

. He is also considered a leader in the study of the history of chemistry in North America.

Early life and education

Charles Albert Browne Jr. was born in

North Adams, Massachusetts North Adams is a city in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its population was 12,961 as of the 2020 census. Best known as the home of the largest contemporary ...

, on August 12, 1870, the eldest of five children. His father, Charles Albert Browne Sr., was an inventor and held several patents dealing with explosive technologies including electric fuses. His father helped to apply these technologies during the construction of the

Hoosac Tunnel The Hoosac Tunnel (also called Hoosic or Hoosick Tunnel) is a active railroad tunnel in western Massachusetts that passes through the Hoosac Range, an extension of Vermont's Green Mountains. It runs in a straight line from its east portal, al ...

near North Adams, where Charles grew up. In his youth, Charles assisted his father in conducting experiments which naturally aroused the boy's interest in chemistry. Upon graduating from Drury High School in North Adams, Charles went on to attend nearby

Williams College Williams College is a private liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a colonist from the Province of Massachusetts Bay who was kill ...

where he received a B.A and M.A. in 1892. In addition to studying chemistry, he became intensely interested in Greek Language - an interest that he pursued in parallel with chemistry throughout his life. He went on to do further study in the field of chemistry, and received his doctorate from The

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

in 1901.

Family

In 1918, Charles Browne married Louise McDannell of Kentucky, herself a Ph.D. in chemistry – quite rare for a woman in that day and age. He once wrote jokingly that "I have been greatly blamed for causing her to abandon a very successful academic career". The Brownes had one daughter, Caroline Louise Browne (June 8, 1922 - November 29, 2007) who spent the majority of her life in and near Washington D.C, raising two children of her own.

History of Chemistry

Browne was a close friend of

Edgar Fahs Smith Edgar Fahs Smith (May 23, 1854 – May 3, 1928) was an American scientist who is best known today for his interests in the history of chemistry. He served as provost of the University of Pennsylvania from 1911 to 1920, was deeply involved in the ...

(1854–1928). In 1921, they announced the creation of a new section of 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 ...

, on the history of chemistry. In 1945, Browne donated around 450 items from his own collection to the Edgar Fahs Smith Memorial Library in the History of Chemistry, which was curated by Eva Armstrong. Browne served on an Advisory Committee for the University of Pennsylvania, planning for the use of resources from the Smith Collection. The committee proposed the creation of an annual publication on the history of chemistry. Browne was appointed the first editor-in-chief of ''Chymia'', the resulting journal. Sadly, Browne died before its first issue appeared. He was succeeded as editor by Tenney L. Davis (1890–1949), who edited the first two issues. One of the first articles in ''Chymia'' was a memorial to Browne and his contributions to the history of chemistry.

References

External links

Charles A. Browne, Ph.D.
1870 births 1947 deaths Commissioners of the Food and Drug Administration American food chemists Coolidge administration personnel {{US-scientist-stub