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 American Chemical Society and other organizations, and was awarded the Priestley Medal in 1926.

[1] In 1876, Fahs was appointed Associate Professor of Analytical Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania,[4] where he taught for five years.

He chose to emphasize the moral aspects of their work, rather than focusing solely on the development of skilled technicians.

Smith was a pioneer in the field of electrochemistry, discovering the use of electric current for the separation of metals and minerals, and published a number of works on chemistry.

This school closed in 2010 but re-opened in 2017 as a STEAM Academy, incorporating science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics into project based learning.

During his lifetime, Smith accumulated an international collection of approximately 3,000 printed books and 600 manuscripts, along with antique furniture, portraits of chemists and other memorabilia.

[16] Since its creation, the collection has grown to 15,000 books, manuscripts and pamphlets dealing with the history of chemistry and related sciences and technologies.

[2][17] The Catalog of the Edgar Fahs Smith Memorial Collection in the History of Chemistry was published by G. K. Hall in 1960.