Henry P. Talbot (? -- 1927)Henry P. Talbot was a student at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) graduating in 1885, and later a Professor of Inorganic Chemistry from 1890 to 1927 at the same institution. Due to his activities as instructor, professor in the Chemistry Department, later head of the department, and finally dean of the Institute, Doctor Talbot became the "grand old man of Technology". Dr. Talbot graduated from MIT in 1885 and received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Leipzig in 1890. He returned to the Institute then as an instructor, was rapidly promoted and in l895 he was appointed Professor of Analytical Chemistry. He showed marked administrative ability and from 1895 was nominally in charge of the Department of Chemistry, although his official appointment to this post was not made until 1901. From the time that Dr. Talbot entered the Institute he was actively connected with various affairs about the school. From 1901 until 1919 he served as head of the Chemistry Department and in that year he was made Chairman of the Faculty, in which position he served for two years. He also acted as Chairman of the Administrative Committee from 1920 to 1923, and as Dean of Students from 1921 until 1927. Dean Talbot's training in chemistry was broad. His work as a student equipped him with the point of view of the analytical chemist; his research for his doctorate was in organic chemistry; and he devoted much attention to the study in Germany of the new physical chemistry which was rapidly being developed at that time. He was impressed with the importance of the advance of the science in this direction, and, on his return from Germany in 1890, he introduced at the Institute a course in physical chemistry, which was one of the first in this subject given in American universities. When Dr. Talbot came to the Institute there were no student activities, no publications, no Tech Show, and fraternity life had not yet been developed. For many years he took an active interest in these activities and it was largely to his enthusiasm that they were organized and exist at present. His belief in student activities showed itself in the interest he took in the undergraduate Chemical Society, which he helped to organize. This attitude, toward the various organizations controlled by the students, had its foundation in the personal interest that Dean Talbot always felt toward the students as individuals. Upon his death in 1927 the following tribute was paid to him by President, Samuel W. Stratton: "The Institute has suffered an irreparable loss in the death of Dr. Henry P. Talbot. Since 1881 he had been identified with it as student, teacher and administrator, and in all these capacities his zeal had been unflagging, his work invaluable. As a teacher of Chemistry, as Head of the Department he fostered educational and scientific advancements, notable and lasting. As Dean of Students after 1921 he filled the difficult position of mediator, counselor and friend to the undergraduate body in a manner that commanded the admiration and won the hearts of all students who came in contact with him." Works |