Garner, James Bert - Montgomery InGenWeb Project

Dr. James Bert Garner, former professor and chairman of the department of chemistry at Wabash College, died Monday, Nov. 28, at Pittsburgh, Pa. He was 90 years of age. Dr. Garner was graduated from Wabash in 1893 and was a professor of chemistry from 1901 to 1914. From 1914 to 1950, he was a fellow and professor in the Mellon Institute of the University of Pittsburgh where he carried on extensive research of value to the gas and steel industries. His most recent research position, since the age of 80, was with United States Steel Corp., in Pittsburgh. Dr. Garner was inventor of the gas mask that was adopted by the United States and British armies in World War I. His contributions to the field of chemistry, particularly in the steel, oil and coal industries brought him wide recognition and acknowledgment. Two years after his graduation in 1893, Dr. Garner was awarded a master’s degree from Wabash College, an honor seldom bestowed by the college. In 1897, Dr. Garner received the doctorate of philosophy, magna cum laude, from the University of Chicago. He was awarded the doctorate of science by Wabash in 1950. Services for Dr. Garner will be Thursday, Dec. 1, in Pittsburgh. He is survived by a wife and 12 children. – jlr