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Charles M. Wetherill | |
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| Born | 4 November 1825  Philadelphia |
| Died | 5 March 1871 (aged 45) |
| Occupation | Chemist |
Charles M. Wetherill (November 4, 1825 – March 5, 1871) was an American chemist.[1] In 1862, he was appointed the first head of the Chemical Division in the newly organizedU.S. Department of Agriculture, a unit that eventually became theFood and Drug Administration.[2]
Born inPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania, in 1825, Wetherill was the son of Charles and Margaret.[citation needed] He graduated from theUniversity of Pennsylvania in 1845 and received a Ph.D. inorganic chemistry from theUniversity of Giessen in 1848.[citation needed] On March 5, 1871, he died inBethlehem, Pennsylvania, and was buried in the family plot atLaurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.[citation needed]
He worked as a chemist, eventually becoming achemistry professor atLehigh University. He also studied minerals, illuminating gas,adipocere, foods, and other products.[1] He married Mary Benbrdige in 1856.[citation needed]
In 1851,[3] he was elected to theAmerican Philosophical Society. In 1853, he opened a chemical laboratory for his private instruction and analysis and was awarded an honorary M.D. byNew York Medical College.[citation needed] In 1862, PresidentAbraham Lincoln appointed Wetherill the first chemist for the Chemical Division in the new Department of Agriculture.[4] This small group eventually evolved into theFood and Drug Administration.
Wetherill tried to improve the wine industry, fertilizers and other products, and he began investigating the adulteration of agricultural products.[4] He also studied geology, including the flexible sandstoneItacolumite.[5] He made a chemical analysis of white sulfur water, and in 1860, he published the treatise,The Manufacture of Vinegar. He was the author of several books.
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