Joseph H. Kastle papers
Abstract
The Joseph H. Kastle papers (dated 1904-1957, undated, bulk 1904-1916; 1.15 cubic feet; 2 document boxes and 2 flat boxes) comprise correspondence, speeches and writings, scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, handwritten notes, and realia that document Joseph H. Kastle's later career as a chemist at the Public Health and Marine-Hospital Service and the University of Virginia and as director of the Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station.
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Joseph H. Kastle papers
- Date
- 1904-1957, undated (inclusive)
- 1904-1916 (bulk)
- Creator
- Kastle, Joseph H. (Joseph Hoeing), 1864-1916
- Extent
- 1.15 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Artifacts
- Chemistry -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- United States
- Chemistry -- Research.
- Chemists.
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged by subject and format into four series: Agricultural Experiment Station; Biograpical; Correspondence; and Writings, Speeches, and Notes. Folders in each series are arranged chronologically or alphabetically.
- Preferred Citation
- 0000ua111 : [identification of item], Joseph H. Kastle papers, 1904-1957, undated, bulk 1904-1916, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- Joseph Hoeing Kastle (1864-1916) was a chemist and a professor of chemistry. He was born in Lexington, Kentucky, on January 25, 1864. His parents were Daniel Kastle and Thane Vallandignham Kastle. He was their only child. He obtained his BS from State College in Lexington in 1884, where he trained under Robert Peter. He earned his MA from the same institution in 1886, and his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1888. From 1888 to 1905, Kastle was a professor of chemistry and head of the Department of Chemistry at State College. From 1905 to 1909, he served as Chief of the Division of Chemistry in the Hygiene Laboratory in the United States Public Health and Marine-Hospital Service (which became the Public Health Service and the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps of the present-day Department of Health and Human Services), with a rank of major in the United States army. From 1909 to 1911, he served as chair of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Virginia, Charlotte, Virginia. In 1911, he was appointed Research Chemist for the State University Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station, In 1912, upon the death of the Station's Director and Dean of the College of Agriculture, Melville A. Scovell, he was promoted into that position, which he held until his death on September 25, 1916, of Bright's disease, a historical classification of a group of kidney diseases.
- Kastle's research focused on organic chemistry pertaining to animal processes and compounds, as well as photochemistry. The Kastle-Meyer test, a type of catalytic, forensic blood test used by crime labs to identify blood, is named after Kastle and a German physician and chemist, Erich Meyer (1874-1927). Kastle invented and tested the blood test in 1901 and Meyer modified it in 1903. Kastle published more than 100 scholarly papers, contributed regularly to farm journals, and wrote newspaper columns on agriculture for newspapers, including the Lexington Leader. In 1900, he published a textbook titled The Chemistry of Metals. He was a member of the Phi Theta Pi fraternity, the Society of Biological Chemists, the American Physiological Society, and The Society of Chemical Industry. He was a member and president of the Kentucky Academy of Science. In addition, with Alfred Peter and other faculty who were University of Kentucky graduates, he founded the UK Alumni Association in 1889 and served as its second president from 1891-1902.
- Kastle married Callie Warner Kastle, and they had two daughters, Elizabeth Thane Kastle Scott (married to Scott Pratt and lived in Hawaii) and Harriett Kastle Hunter (lived in San Franscisco). Kastle Hall on the University of Kentucky campus is named in his honor.
- Sources:
- 1. "Bright's disease." Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brights_disease
- 2. 2018ua031 : "Kastle, Joseph H." University of Kentucky Libraries. Special Collections Research Center. General reference faculty/staff biographical files.
- 3. "Joseph Hoeing Kastle." Hall of Distinguished Alumni. Office of Philanthropy and Alumni. University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. https://alumni.ca.uky.edu/hoda/joseph-hoeing-kastle.
- 4. "Kastle-Meyer test." Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kastle_Meyer_test
- 5. "Marine Hospital Service." Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_Hospital_Service
- Scope and Content
- The Joseph H. Kastle papers (dated 1904-1957, undated, bulk 1904-1916; 1.15 cubic feet; 2 document boxes and 2 flat boxes) comprise correspondence, speeches and writings, scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, handwritten notes, and realia that document Joseph H. Kastle's later career as a chemist at the Public Health and Marine-Hospital Service and the University of Virginia and as director of the Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station. The correspondence is primarily incoming professional, including letters from research colleagues, current and former employers, and fellow faculty at the Kentucky State College (KSC)/University of Kentucky (UK). Many correspondents request reprints of Kastle's articles (particularly on oxidases and chemical tests for blood, 1910, and on parturient paresis (milk fever) and eclampsia, 1912, with D.J. Healy); and/or offer congratulations and praise for his published research results or his various work appointments. The biographical material includes several comprehensive lists of Kastle's publications and the writings and speeches include typescript transcripts of speeches covering farm topics, as well as a report on the "Organization and Work of the Division of Chemistry of the Hygienic Laboratory from June 20, 1905, to August 1, 1909." A few of the letters requesting reprints are in German or French.
- The incoming and outgoing correspondence for 1909 and some for 1910 primarily relates to his being considered and interviewed for, then offered the position at the University of Virginia (UVA) as head of the Department of Chemistry, along with his requests for appropriate space and equipment for chemistry teaching laboratories (a new pedagogical requirement) as well as his personal lab. This folder includes his brief outlining "The Need of a new Chemical Laboratory for the University of Virginia, together with a Statement as to the Relation of Chemistry to the Industrial Development of the South." Major portions of this document were used by the UVA President, Edwin A. Alderman, in his January 1, 1910, address to the Virginia General Assembly requesting increased support for the University, focusing on science and engineering instruction and the importance of these disciplines to the ongoing development of the United States southern states. A printed copy of this address can be found in folder 8. In addition to Alderman, other correspondents include F. Paul Anderson (1908-1909, who would become the first Dean of the UK College of Engineering), Alfred Peter (1909, a KSC graduate and long-serving Research Chemist at the Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station), Arthur Solomon Loevenhart (a UK and Johns Hopkins graduate and professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison), and Edward Hart from the Gayley Chemical and Metallurgical Laboratory of Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania. Hart's letters to Kastle, 1910, include two cyanotypes (or blueprints) showing a wood distilling apparatus and detailing its component parts and uses.
- The Experiment Station scrapbook number one, as well as loose letters from 1911-1912, primarily relate to his proposed return as Research Chemist to the Station (1911), and then support for his appointment as Director (1912). Maps showing plots and areas of research for the Experiment Station, along with some financial statements, correspondence, reports, clippings, and printed material for 1912-1913 can be found in the Experiment Station scrapbook number two. The wheat growing contract between Kentucky farmers and the Experiment Station included in the second scrapbook is referred to in a 1913 letter from E.J. Kinney to Kastle and found in the 1913-1916 correspondence folder.
Restrictions on Access and Use
- Conditions Governing Access
- Collection is open to researchers by appointment
- Use Restrictions
- Property rights reside with the University of Kentucky. The University of Kentucky holds the copyright for materials created in the course of business by University of Kentucky employees. Copyright for all other materials has not been assigned to the University of Kentucky. For information about permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Special Collections Research Center.
Contents of the Collection
Agricultural Experiment Station, 1911-1915, undated
Clippings, 1911-1916, undated
Experiment data gathered on Experiment Station farm and other Kentucky farms, 1901-1908, undated
Scrapbook 1 loose items, 1913, undated
Scrapbook 2 loose items, 1909-1913, undated
Scrapbook 1, 1912-1913, undated
Scrapbook 2, 1912-1915, undated
Biographical, 1905-1919
Clippings about Kastle, 1905-1919
Lists of publications, 1911-1915
Metal plaque to accompany official portrait, 1916
Printed materials saved by Kastle, 1909-1916
Certificate of appointment, Kentucky State Board of Agriculture (ex officio), 1913 January 07
Correspondence, 1904-1916, undated
Catalogue of correspondence compiled by UK Library, 1957 June 13
1904 June 06
1908
1909
1910
1911
1912
1913-1916, undated
Writings, Speeches, and Notes, 1919, undated
"Organization and Work of the Division of Chemistry of the Hygienic Laboratory from June 20, 1905, to August 1, 1909", 1909
Speeches and writings (2 folders), undated
Handwritten notes, undated
"Effect of Certain Grain Rations on the Growth of the White Leghorn Chick", 1919
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Table of Contents
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UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Requests
No items have been requested.
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
