Robeson, Frank Leigh, 1884-1974
Dates
- Existence: 1884 - 1974
Biographical Note
Frank Leigh Robeson was born on August 31, 1884, in Farmville, Virginia, to George M. and Anna M. Robeson. In 1912, he married Mary Anna Matthews (1888-1975). They had 5 children: Helen (b. 1913), Mary (b. 1915), Martha (b. 1921), Amenta (b. 1922), and Andrew (b. 1927). Robeson died in September 1974 in Blacksburg, Montgomery County, Virginia. He is buried in Westview Cemetery.
Robeson graduated from Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute with a B. S. in 1904. Between 1904 and 1907, he served as an instructor in Mathematics and Drawing and later in Mathematics and Graphics. From 1910-1913, he was an instructor in Mathematics and Experimental Engineering. In 1913, he received an M. A. from Columbia University. From 1913-1917, he served as an Associate Professor of Physics and from 1917-1955 (except for a leave in 1922/1923) as a Professor of Physics. He completed a Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins in 1923 before returning to teach at VPI. Between 1036 and 1941, he was the head of the Physics Department. After retiring in September 1954, he was granted emeritus status. In honor of his long career at VPI as a student and teacher, the Department of Physics building, completed in 1960, was dedicated "Robeson Hall" in 1969. A portrait of him hangs in the building.
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
Frank L. Robeson Papers
The collection includes papers from Frank L. Robeson's tenure as a student at Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute, Columbia University, and Johns Hopkins University, as well as subject and research files from his nearly 50 years as an instructor and professor at VPI, dating from 1899 to 1954.