Aaron Samuel French was a Pennsylvanian philanthropist

Philanthropist

A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...

 who played a large part in the establishment of Georgia Tech

Georgia Institute of Technology

The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...

's textile engineering department, which opened in February 1899, and was the young school's fourth department. Lyman Hall

Lyman Hall (academic)

Lyman Hall was a professor and president of the Georgia School of Technology . He is perhaps best known for bringing what is now the School of Polymer, Textile & Fiber Engineering to Georgia Tech...

, then president of the school, had met French at a North Carolina summer resort and had convinced French of the need for a textile school in the South

Southern United States

The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...

.

Both the building that housed it in what is now the Georgia Institute of Technology Historic District

Georgia Institute of Technology Historic District

The Historic District of the Georgia Institute of Technology, also known as the Old Campus of Georgia Tech or the Hill District, is significant in the areas of architecture, education, engineering and science, as well as landscape architecture. The area is a Registered Historic Place and part of...

and the department itself were named after Aaron French. The Textile Department is now Georgia Tech's School of Polymer, Textile & Fiber Engineering.