Browne, Charles Albert, 1870-1947

Dr. Charles Albert Browne was an eminent agricultural chemist with an international reputation for his work on sugar. He received his B.A. and M.A. from Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., and then went to Germany where he studied sugar chemistry and received his doctorate at the University of Gottingen in 1901. He spent his career as an agricultural research chemist in the field of sugar chemistry and technology working for both state and federal agencies.

From the description of Charles Albert Browne report, 1932. (Louisiana State University). WorldCat record id: 76292759

Charles Albert Browne was an American chemist, science writer and food technologist dealing primarily with sugar.

From the description of Charles Albert Browne papers, 1896-1947. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122575973

From the guide to the Charles Albert Browne papers, 1896-1947, (The New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division.)

Chemist, food technologist, and agriculturalist.

From the description of Papers of Charles Albert Browne, 1895-1945. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 78802250

Browne was Chief, Bureau of Chemistry, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. He kept detailed journals of his trips through Europe, the Middle East, and the Pacific basin, visiting museums, libraries, food processing plants, laboratories, and sugar plantations. He also noted various aspects of regional industries involving agricultural and dairy products, and discussed his conversations with scientists, academics, and diplomatic contacts abroad. On these trips, he was accompanied by his wife, Louise, and on the 1929-1930 trip, by their daughter, Caroline.

Browne was one of the organizers of the History of Chemistry Section (later Division) of the American Chemical Society.

See Chymia, 1 (1948), 11-22, for a tribute to Browne, and a bibliography of Browne's contributions to the history of chemistry.

From the description of Charles Albert Browne papers, 1926-1942. (University of Pennsylvania Library). WorldCat record id: 191734848

Biographical Note

• 1870, Aug. 12: Born, North Adams, Mass.
• circa 1888 - 1896 : Attended Williams College, Williamstown, Mass.
• circa 1895 - 1900 : Instructor and assistant research chemist, Pennsylvania State College, State College, Pa.
• 1901: Ph.D., University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
• 1902 - 1906 : Research chemist, Louisiana sugar experiment station, New Orleans, La.
• 1906 - 1907 : Chief, Sugar laboratory, Bureau of Chemistry, Department of Agriculture
• 1907 - 1923 : Founded and served as chief chemist, New York Sugar Trade Laboratory
• 1912: Published A Handbook of Sugar Analysis. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
• 1918, Feb. 9: Married Louise McDanell
• 1923 - 1934 : Chief, Bureau of Chemistry and Soils, Department of Agriculture
• 1929 - 1930 : Traveled through Europe and Asia
• 1935: Representative to Congress of International Sugar Cane Technologists, Brisbane, Australia
• 1935 - 1940 : Chief, Bureau of Agricultural Research and Engineering, Department of Agriculture
• 1943: Published Thomas Jefferson and the Scientific Trends of his Time. New York: G. E. Stechert & Co.
• 1944: Awarded Nicholas Appert Medal
• 1944: Published A Source Book of Agricultural Chemistry. New York: G. E. Stechert & Co.
• 1947, Feb. 3: Died, Washington, D.C.
• 1952: Posthumous publication with Mary Elvira Weeks, A History of the American Chemical Society. Washington, D.C.: American Chemical Society

From the guide to the Charles Albert Browne Papers, 1783-1947, (bulk 1909-1945), (Manuscript Division Library of Congress)