G. Frederick Smith, as he was more generally known, was born in Lucasville, Ohio, and raised in Columbus, Ohio. Smith attended the University of Michigan, and received his BS, MS and PhD (1922) degrees, the PhD obtained under H. H. Willard in analytical chemistry.
He joined the faculty of the University of Illinois to teach analytical chemistry in 1921. At Michigan he had learned about perchlorates – at Illinois he published an article on the analysis of steel, in which he pointed out the advantages of magnesium perchlorate, which he prepared for his own use, as a super drying agent....