Charles Clement French was born in 1901 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. French held three degrees in chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania, including a Ph.D. in physical chemistry. In 1925, French married Helen Augusta Black (1902-1976) and they had two children.
He was dean of the college at Randolph Macon College in Virginia, an administrator at Virginia Polytechnic Institute (Virginia Tech), and vice president at Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College (Texas A&M). In 1952 French was selected to be the sixth President of the State College of Washington (which was renamed Washington State University during his term).
French served as chairman of the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education, and the Washington State Constitutional Revision Commission, as well as being a member of the Board of Trustees for the Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair). He retired in 1966 and was honored in 1968 with the university's new administration building being named for him. He received honorary degrees from Whitworth College, Pacific Lutheran University, and the University of Punjab. French died in Pullman, Washington in 1988.
This collection consists of President French's records related to his work as a trustee of the Century 21 Exposition. The files include: correspondence; meeting minutes of the board of trustees, the National Science Planning Board, and the executive committee; corporate governance documents; schedules and other planning documents; and printed ephemera.
The files are arranged chronologically.
This collection is open and available for research use.
Copyright restrictions may apply.
[Item Description]
Charles Clement French Century 21 Exposition Planning Records, 1958-1962 (Cage 727)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
These files were transferred to Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections from the Washington State University President's office in 1975.
This collection was originally classified as a University Archives collection (Archives 161), and reprocessed as a manuscript collection in 2009.
Charles Clement French Papers, 1914-1971
Charles Clement French Papers, 1967-1969
State College of Washington Office of the President: Wilson Compton and Charles Clement French Records, 1948-1956
Washington State University Office of the President: Charles Clement French Records, 1957-1966
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