Albert Reid Ledoux
Albert Reid Ledoux (1852-1924)
1924 Obituary [1]
ALBERT REID LEDOUX, M.A., M.Sc., Ph.D., died at his country home, Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York, on October 25, 1923, within a week of completing his seventy-first year.
Dr. Ledoux was born in 1852 in Newport, Kentucky, the elder son of the Rev. Dr. Louis P. Ledoux.
Some years later the family moved to Cornwall-on-Hudson, where the youth received his early education and where, in later years, he established the country home in which he died.
In 1870 he entered Columbia School of Mines in New York. After three years spent in preliminary study he went to the University of Berlin, specializing in chemistry, mineralogy, and geology. Later he attended the University of Gottingen, receiving the degrees of Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy.
After returning to the United States his first appointment was in the laboratory of William M. Habirshaw, a well-known public analyst.
In 1877 he was appointed State Chemist to North Carolina, serving for three years with honour and distinction, the degree of Master of Science being conferred upon him by the State University.
In 1880 Dr. Ledoux opened an office in New York as an analyst and consulting chemist. Three years later he established the firm of Ledoux & Co. which was afterward incorporated, the shares being distributed among the more important members of the staff. Dr. Ledoux remained at the head of Ledoux & Co. until his death, giving his time and effort particularly to the betterment of non-ferrous metallurgy. His Company soon became known throughout the world as the highest authority on the metallurgy of copper.
He did much to establish the copper refining industry in the United States. A member of the Institute of Metals since September 20, 1911, and a member of many other technical societies, Dr. Ledoux willingly gave his time and knowledge to their benefit. He was a life member of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, serving as Councillor and as a member of its most important committees for more than twenty-five years. He was Vice-President in 1898-99 and President in 1903, and again served as Vice-President from 1919 to the time of his death. He served the Government of the United States in many important cases, and was one of the consulting engineers of the Bureau of Mines.
His son, Louis V. Ledoux, succeeds him as the President of Ledoux & Co., Inc.