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©2003 Davidson College Archives | Davidson , NC 28035
| Phone: 704.894.2632 |
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Henry Louis Smith
(b. 1859 d. 1951) Reverend Henry Louis Smith, D.D. was Davidson's first president who was not a Presbyterian minister. A native of Greensboro, North Carolina, Smith graduated from Davidson College in 1881. After receiving advanced degrees from the University of Virginia, he returned to Davidson in 1887 as a professor of physics and was elected president in 1901. He was brother-in-law to future president Walter Lingle.
During his administration, Smith established the first electric light plant in the town of Davidson, oversaw the construction of Lake Wiley, the Carnegie Library, the YMCA hall, Martin Chemical Laboratory, and three dormitories, and saw student enrollment grow from 137 to 340 students. He encouraged the organization of a student government and the development of an athletic field. As a scientist, Smith was involved in early work with X-rays and is credited with producing one of the first X-ray photographs in the United States. Smith left Davidson in 1912 to assume the presidency of Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia.
Author: Molly P. Gillespie
Date: 1998
Cite as: Gillespie, Molly P. "Henry Louis Smith " Davidson Encyclopedia 1998 <http://library.davidson.edu/archives/ency/smithhl.asp>
Related Entries: Dormitories, Martin Chemical Laboratory, Physics Department , President's House, Presidents of Davidson College, YMCA - Morrison Hall
Related Links: Smith's Presidential Portrait
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©2003 Davidson College Archives | Davidson , NC 28035
| Phone: 704.894.2632 |
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