Venable, Charles Scott (19 April 1827–11 August 1900), mathematician and soldier, was born at “Longwood” in Prince Edward County, Virginia, the son of Nathaniel E. Venable, a plantation owner, and Mary Embra Scott. As a child, Venable benefited from his family’s wealth and high station in Virginia society. He received his early training from private tutors and followed a longstanding family tradition of proceeding to Hampden-Sydney College, his great-grandfather having been one of the driving forces behind the founding of that Presbyterian institution in 1776. Venable pursued his studies there from 1839 until his graduation in 1842....
