{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2022}} {{Short description|American colonel and scientist (1857–1915)}} {{Infobox military person |honorific_prefix = |name = Robert Dorsey Coale |honorific_suffix = |image = Robert Dorsey Coale.png |image_upright = |alt = |caption = Coale during the Spanish-American War |native_name = |native_name_lang = |birth_name = |other_name = |nickname = |birth_date = {{birth date|1857|09|17}} |birth_place = [[Baltimore]], Maryland, U.S. |death_date = {{death date and age|1915|05|18|1857|09|17}} |death_place = Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |burial_place = |burial_label = |burial_coordinates = <!--{{coord|LAT|LONG|display=inline,title}}--> |allegiance = {{flag|United States|1896}} |branch = {{flagdeco|United States Army}} [[United States Volunteers]] |branch_label = Branch |service_years = 1898 |service_years_label = |rank = [[File:Union army col rank insignia.jpg|25px]] [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]] |rank_label = |service_number = |unit = |commands = [[5th Maryland Volunteer Infantry Regiment (1898)|5th Maryland Volunteer Infantry Regiment]] |known_for = |battles = [[Spanish–American War]] |battles_label = |awards = |memorials = |alma_mater = [[Pennsylvania Military Academy]]<br>[[Johns Hopkins University]] |spouse = Minna Howison Coale<ref>{{Cite book|title=Bulletin of the School of Medicine: Official Publication of the University of Maryland|volume=3–4|number=2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KGQ2AQAAMAAJ&dq=robert+dorsey+coale&pg=RA1-PA176|date=July 1918|location=Baltimore|publisher=[[University of Maryland, Baltimore]]|pages=176|access-date=November 2, 2022}}</ref> |children = |relations = |other_work = professor and [[Dean (education)|Dean]] at the [[University of Maryland, Baltimore]] |signature = |signature_size = |signature_alt = |website = <!--{{URL|example.com}}--> |module = }}
'''Robert Dorsey Coale''' (1857–1915) was an American Colonel of the [[Spanish–American War]], commanding the [[5th Maryland Volunteer Infantry Regiment (1898)|5th Maryland Volunteer Infantry Regiment]]. He was also known as the Professor of Chemistry and Toxicology as well as the Dean of the Physics Faculty at the [[University of Maryland, Baltimore]].
==Education== Robert was born on September 17, 1857, at [[Baltimore]], Maryland as the son of Dr. Samuel Buchanan Coale and Caroline Dorsey Coale who was the daughter of Robert Edward Dorsey.<ref>{{Cite book|title=University of Maryland, 1807–1907, Its History, Influence, Equipment and Characteristics: With Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Its Founders, Benefactors, Regents, Faculty and Alumni|volume=1|last=Cordell|first=Eugene Fauntleroy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zTI4AAAAYAAJ&dq=robert+dorsey+coale+biography&pg=PA310|date=1907|publisher=Lewis Publishing Company|location=New York City|pages=310|access-date=November 2, 2022}}</ref> He graduated from the [[Pennsylvania Military Academy]] in 1875 and later, earned a PhD degree at the [[Johns Hopkins University]] in 1876.<ref name="Medschool">{{Cite web|title=Centuries of Leadership: Deans of the University of Maryland School of Medicine|url=https://www.medschool.umaryland.edu/media/SOM/Offices-of-the-Dean/Public-Affairs/Publications/DeansBook.pdf|website=[[University of Maryland School of Medicine]]|pages=23|access-date=November 2, 2022}}</ref> He also became a Fellow of chemistry in 1880 to 1881.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Eleventh Annual Report of the President of Johns Hopkins University|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pilOAAAAMAAJ&dq=robert+dorsey+coale+phd&pg=RA3-PA19|date=1886|location=Baltimore|publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University]]|pages=19|access-date=November 2, 2022}}</ref>
==Chemistry and Toxicology== Coale then became a professor of Chemistry and Toxicology at the [[University of Maryland, Baltimore]] and the Dean of the University for 18 years since he served two terms.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Diastasic Value of Malt Extracts with Reports of Conservative Texts by Eminent Physicians, Chemists and Pharmacists, AS|url=https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/ext/dw/101174269/PDF/101174269.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221103001325/https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/ext/dw/101174269/PDF/101174269.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 3, 2022|website=National Library of Medicine|pages=2|access-date=November 2, 2022}}</ref> During this time, while he was described as being kind and generous, he was also known for not speaking as much which some mistook for coldness. Due to this, Coale often performed charitable activities anonymously.<ref name="Medschool"/>
==Military career== When the [[Spanish–American War]] broke out, Coale volunteered to become Colonel of the [[5th Maryland Volunteer Infantry Regiment (1898)|5th Maryland Volunteer Infantry Regiment]] which was assembled at [[Pimlico, Maryland]] on April 25, 1898.<ref>{{Cite web|last=McSherry|first=Patrick|title=A Brief History of the Fifth Maryland Volunteer Infantry|url=https://www.spanamwar.com/5thmaryland#:~:text=The%20Fifth%20Maryland%20Volunteer%20Infantry%2C%20apparently%20formed%20around%20a%20Maryland,was%20mustered%20into%20federal%20service.|website=The Spanish-American War Centennial Website|access-date=November 2, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221102233735/https://www.spanamwar.com/5thmaryland|archive-date=November 2, 2022}}</ref> However, there were competition between the volunteer regiments over which regiments would see active combat against the Spanish forces. When the 5th Maryland was destined to not be among the chosen volunteer regiments of General [[William Shafter]]'s [[Fifth Army Corps (Spanish–American War)|V Army Corps]], desperate, Coale wrote to General [[William H. Wilmer]], urging that the regiment "be sent to [[Captaincy General of Puerto Rico|Puerto Rico]] as its last opportunity to see active service." but before the regiment could see any action, an armistice was signed between the United States and Spain, ending the war. Coale along with his regiment returned to Maryland on October 24 and all members were discharged by December 5, 1898.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Cole|first=Merie T.|title=Maryland's National Guard in the Spanish-American War|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301565463|website=[[ResearchGate]]|format=PDF|pages=153, 156|access-date=November 2, 2022}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coale, Robert Dorsey}} [[Category:1857 births]] [[Category:1915 deaths]] [[Category:Military personnel from Baltimore]] [[Category:Scientists from Baltimore]] [[Category:American military personnel of the Spanish–American War]] [[Category:United States Army colonels]] [[Category:University of Maryland School of Medicine faculty]] [[Category:Widener University alumni]] [[Category:Johns Hopkins University alumni]]