Professor R. Edward Davis served as Secretary and Treasurer of the Chicago Coin Club from its formation in 1919 until 1927, and again from 1933 to 1936. He served as president from 1929 to 1932. A founding member of the club, he was (randomly) assigned charter number 1.
Professor Davis was born on January 20, 1878, in Aurora, Illinois where he grew up and first began collecting fossil specimens. He graduated from Illinois Normal University (now Illinois State University) in Normal, Illinois and from the University of Chicago.
After graduation, he began his long teaching career as a science teacher at various schools in Iowa from 1900 to 1904 before moving to Fort Scott, Kansas. He joined the faculty of the Lane Technical High School of Chicago as head of the department of chemistry in 1914, which position he occupied until his death. He was an active member of the Chicago section of the American Chemical Society and was elected vice-president of the Illinois State Chemistry Teachers Association.
Prof. Davis joined the A.N.A. in June 1909 as Member 1262, and was a founder of Branch 1 of the A.N.A. in Chicago – the Chicago Numismatic Society. From 1938 to 1940 he served as the editor of the Chicago Coin Club’s Bulletin where he contributed many papers on Illinois numismatics. Among his publications was the booklet Early Illinois Paper Money.
He was elected President of the Central States Numismatic Society in 1940 but died unexpectedly after a short illness on May 4, 1940, at the age of 62. His early death cut short the career of this well-known educator and numismatist. He was survived by his wife Frances, who he married in 1906, and two daughters, Isabella and Emily.
Page history: created on 13-December-2023; last updated on 14-December-2023.