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This Day in Arkansas History

April 10, 2005

Samuel Massie died in Laurel, Maryland. Massie was born in North Little Rock (Pulaski County) in 1919. Massie overcame racial barriers to become one of America’s greatest chemists in research and teaching. As a doctoral candidate during World War II, he worked on the Manhattan Project with Henry Gilman at Iowa State University in the development of uranium isotopes for the atomic bomb. In 1966, the U.S. Naval Academy appointed him as its first black faculty member. Chemical and Engineering News in 1998 named him one of the top seventy-five chemists of all time. He is buried at St. Anne’s Cemetery in Annapolis, Maryland.

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George Stuart Benson

In 1936, Oklahoma native George Benson left his position as a missionary in China to become the second president of Harding College (now Harding University) in Searcy (White County). While serving as president, Benson became a national figure due to his crusade against the spread of communism and his founding of the National Education Program, an organization dedicated to promoting the free enterprise system and what it considered to be American values. He retired as Harding’s president after twenty-nine years. He died in 1991.

 

In 1936, Oklahoma native George Benson left his position as a missionary in China to become the second president of Harding College (now Harding University) in Searcy (White County). While serving as president, Benson became a national figure due to his crusade against the spread of communism and his founding of the National Education Program, an organization dedicated to promoting the free enterprise system and what it considered to be American values. He retired as Harding’s president after twenty-nine years. He died in 1991.

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About the Encyclopedia

The CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas is a free, authoritative source of information about the rich history, geography, and culture of Arkansas. It is updated regularly to ensure the people of Arkansas have an accurate and accessible resource to explore our heritage. We invite you to browse our text entries and media galleries to learn more about the people, places, events, legends, and lore of the 25th state. We are continually adding new entries, photographs, maps, videos, and audio files, so check back frequently to see what’s new.

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