Luther BurbankDied 11 Apr 1926 at age 77 (born 7 Mar 1849). American naturalist and horticulturist who was a pioneer of plant breeding. At age 21, he produced the the Burbank potato. Thus he began a 55 year career, prodigiously producing useful varieties of fruits, flowers, vegetables, grains, and grasses. He had an ability to detect and nurture hybrids which he made from multiple crosses of foreign and native strains under suitable growing conditions. Basing his understanding upon his own observations, he believed in the Lamarckian idea of the inheritance of acquired characteristics. It was for others to develop the modern science of plant breeding based on the genetic theory. He developed more than 800 strains and varieties of plants, including the Freestone peach, and the Burbank potato (1871). |
