Francis Preston Venable (November 17, 1856 – March 17, 1934) was a chemist, educator, and president of the University of North Carolina (UNC).

A year later, he earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Göttingen, and was elected fellow of the Chemical Society of London.

[2] In 1893, Venable occupied the first endowed chair at UNC, the Mary Ann Smith Professorship.

In collaboration with undergraduate students William R. Kenan, Jr. and Thomas Clarke and former student John Motley Morehead III, he identified calcium carbide, a discovery of great commercial importance that led to the development of acetylene and the founding of Union Carbide.

He took a one-year leave of absence due to illness in 1914, during which time Edward Kidder Graham served as acting president.