William Henry Adolph (1890 - 1958)

Born 1 Sep 1890 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Katharine (Witmer) Adolph — married 21 Jun 1917 in Hainan, China

Died Sep 1958 at about age 68 in Richmond, Dearborn, Indiana, United States

Biography

William was born in 1890 in Philadelphia.

In 1915, William earned his PhD in Chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania working with Edgar Fahs Smith.

In 1915, William became chemist-missionary to China. From 1915 to 1921 and 1922 to 1926, he was Professor of Chemistry Shantung Christian University, Tsinan, China.

In 1917, William married Katharine Witmer in Hainan, China. She was a missionary nurse. They had at least three children.

From 1927 to 1929, William was Associate Professor of Chemistry at the University of Nebraska. In 1927, he published two articles in the Journal of Chemical Education about chemical education in China, the first articles on this topic.

• Adolph, William H. (1927) “Some Aspects of Chemical Education in China” Journal of Chemical Education 4, 1488-1492.

From 1929 to 1942, William was Professor and Head of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Yenching University, Peking, China.

He published in nutrition journals during the 1930s and 1940s In 1943, he was seized by the Japanese and returned to the US.

From 1944 to about 1946, William was Acting Professor of Nutrition and Biochemistry at Cornell University while his son attended Cornell.

From 1947 to 1950, William was Professor at Peiping Union Medical College, Peiping, China

From 1954 to 1955, William was Professor of Nutrition at American University of Beirut.

Lincoln Journal Star (Lincoln, Nebraska) 8 Sep 1927, Thu, page 15

Dr. William H. Adolph, recently elected as an associate professor chemistry at the University of Nebraska, has arrived in the city with his wife and three children, and is located at 2121 A street. He comes from Yale university but the two years previously was connected with a university In China. Two instructors for the department are expected to arrive by the the week. These are Dr. H. A. Pagel, who comes from the University of Minnesota, and Dr. M. Harsbaw from the University of Missouri.

Palladium-Item (Richmond, Indiana) 4 May 1958, Sun, page 14

Final Speaker In Science Series [includes photo of "Dr. William Adolph"]

"World Nutrition Problems" will be discussed by Dr. William H. Adolph,-emeritus professor, of biochemistry at Yenching university, Peking, China, at the final talk in the Earlham College Science Lecture series, to be held at 8 p. m. Tuesday in Dennis auditorium.

Dr. Adolph is also an associate of the Yale Medical school in New Haven, Conn., where he lectures on nutrition and public health.

One of the first biochemists in China to become interested in the soybean, Dr. Adolph has done most of his research work in the field of nutritional metabolism. From 1915 until 1950 he spent in China, training nutritional biochemists In the universities.

He recently has served a short appointment in Beirut, Lebanon, where he supervised the setting up of a nutrition research laboratory, and from where he returned to his present post at Yale. He has held ad interim appointments in this country at University of Illinois, University of Nebraska, and Cornell university.

The Earlham lecture will be illustrated with slides and will touch on the food supply problem as faced by many of the less-developed areas of the world. The public is invited to attend.

Palladium-Item (Richmond, Indiana) 28 Sep 1958, Sun, page 17

Dr. William Adolph

Funeral services were held Friday for Dr. William Adolph of Hamden, Conn., father of Mrs. James Cope of Centerville. Dr. Adolph had visited Richmond several times and in 1957 was a speaker in the Earham college science lecture series. He was a biochemist and had taught Yenching university, China, for many years before retiring.

Survivors include the widow, Katherine; two sons, and two daughters, and several grandchildren.

Publications by William H. Adolph

1. Adolph, William H. (1914) “On Uricolysis” Journal of Biological Chemistry 18, 521-523.
2. Adolph, William H. (1915) “Observations upon the Quantitative Determination of Fluorine” Journal of the American Chemical Society 37, 2500-2515.
3. Adolph, William H. (1921) “Chemical Industry in China” Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry 13, 1099-1102.
4. Adolph, William H. (1922) “The History of Chemistry in China” The Scientific Monthly 14, 441-446.
5. Adolph, William H. (1922) “How China Uses the Soy Bean as Food” Journal of Home Economics (February) 14, 63-69.
6. Adolph, William H. (1925) “A Study of North China Dietaries” Journal of Home Economics (January) 17, 1-7.
7. Adolph, William H. (1925) “The Story of Chinese Food” American Food Journal (Sept) 20, 441-442.
8. Adolph, William H. (1926) “Analyses of Chinese Food Materials” Philippine Journal of Science (July) 287-294.
9. Adolph, William H. (1927) “Some Aspects of Chemical Education in China” Journal of Chemical Education 4, 1488-1492.
10. Adolph, William H. (1927) “Synthesizing a Chemical Terminology in China” Journal of Chemical Education 4, 1233-1240.
11. Adolph, William H. (1929) “Aspects of Nutrition and Metabolism in China” The Scientific Monthly (July) 39-43.
12. Adolph, William H. and Wu, Mao-Yi (1934) “The Influence of Roughage on Protein Ingestibility” Journal of Nutrition 7, 381-393.
13. Adolph, William H. and Kao, Hsueh-Chung (1934) “The Biological Availability of Soybean Carbohydrate” Journal of Nutrition 7, 395-406.
14. Chou, Tung-Pi and Adolph, William H. (1935) “Copper Metabolism in Man” Biochemical Journal 29, 476-479.
15. Kao, H. C., Adolph, W. H., and Liu, H. C. (1935) Chinese Journal of Physiology 9, 141.
16. Adolph, W. H., and Cheng, F. W. (1935) Chinese Journal of Physiology 9, 245.
17. Adolph, William H. (1936) “Sesame Seed Protein: Fat Extractants on Solubility in Salt and Alkali” Industrial and Engineering Chemistry 28, 734-735.
18. Adolph, William H., Wang, Chun-Hsi, and Smith, Arthur H. (1938) “The Effect of Roughage on the Calcium Balance in Rats” Journal of Nutrition 16, 291-297.
19. Adolph, William H. “Vegetarian China” Scientific American (September) 133
20. Hsu, P. C. and Adolph, W. H. (1940) Chinese Journal of Physiology 15, 275.
21. Adolph, William H. and Liang, Chih-Chuan (1941) “Calcium in the Alimentary Tract of the Rate” Journal of Biological Chemistry 137, 517-523.
22. Adolph, William H. and Liang, Chih-Chuan (1942) “The Fate of Oxalic Acid Administered to the Rat” Journal of Biological Chemistry 146, 497-502
23. Adolph, William H. (1944) “The Protein Problem of China” Science 100, 1-4.
24. Adolph, William H. (1945) “Physiological Research in War-time China” The Scientific Monthly 61, 153-154.
25. Adolph, William H. (1950) “The Beginnings of Chemical Research in China” Peking Natural History Bulletin 18, 145-150.
26. Fung, F. H., Ting, H. H., and Adolph, W. H. (1950) “Is Hemicellulose Utilized by the Rat?” Archives of Biochemistry 27, 6-8
27. Adolph, W. H. (1951) “Nutrition under the Chinese Communist Government” The Scientific Monthly 73, 128-130.
28. Adolph, William H. (1954) “Nutritional Problems in Tropical Areas” American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 3, 964-970.
29. Adolph, W. H. (1954) “Nutrition in the Near East” Journal of the American Dietary Association 30, 753-756.
30. Shammas, E., and Adolph, W. H. (1954) “Nutritive Value of Parboiled Wheat Used in the Near East” Journal of the American Dietary Association 30, 982-983.
31. Adolph, William H. (1955) “The Contributions of Tropical Peoples in the Preservation of Food Materials” American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 4, 461-464.
32. Adolph, William H. (1956) “What early man discovered about food” Harper’s Magazine (May)
33. Adolph, William H. (1957) “Agricultural Science and Improved Human Nutrition” Borden’s Review of Nutrition Research 18, 15-27

1900 Federal Census in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:

• William Adolph 39 Steel Engraver born Pennsylvania (married 11 years)
• wife Minnie 38 born Pennsylvania (married 11 years; 2 children, 2 living)
• son William Jr 10 born Pennsylvania
• son Edward F 5 born Pennsylvania

1910 Federal Census in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:

• William H Adolph 49 Bank Notes Engraver born Pennsylvania (married 20 years)
• wife Wilhelmina 48 born Pennsylvania (married 20 years; 3 children, 3 living)
• son William H 19 born Pennsylvania
• son Edward F 14 born Pennsylvania
• son Paul E 8 born Pennsylvania

Sources

• 1890 Pennsylvania Birth Record for Wm Adolph, son of Wm and Mary Adolph
• 1900 Federal Census
• 1910 Federal Census
• 1917 US Consular Marriage Record for William Henry Adolph and Katherene C Witmer in The Union Church Chapel, Jainan, China
• 1921 US Passport Application for William Henry Adolph and wife Katharine W