Sir John Bennet LawesBorn 28 Dec 1814; died 31 Aug 1900 at age 85.(1st Baronet) English agronomist who initiated the artificial fertiliser industry and founded the world's first agricultural research station. While a young man, he studied how manures improved growth of potted plants and crops. In 1842, having patented a method to make superphosphate by treating phosphate rock with sulphuric acid, he started the first artificial fertiliser factory. In 1843, Lawes opened the Rothamsted Experimental Station where he began a 57-yr collaboration with chemist Joseph Henry Gilbert. They developed modern scientific agriculture, researching animal nutrition with different fodders, and the effect on crop yields of inorganic and organic fertilisers. Some of their long-term field experiments continue to this day.« |
