Crusading for Chemistry: The Professional Career of Charles Holmes Herty [Paperback]

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.

A thorough account of an important man who left his mark on American chemistry and the chemical industry.

Reed’s book, most significant as a contribution to the history of science, is also valuable for shedding light on the process by which scientists inserted themselves into debates over public policy.

Reed has written a first-rate historical study that does much to characterize not only one ‘big’ man but also his professional community. It is a fine example of contemporary interdisciplinary scholarship.