The history of agriculture is ultimately the history of individuals, those notable or ordinary people who invented new technologies, developed innovative processes, or influenced agrarian society. Learn more about these people through the following featured Web sites.
Biography
Spotlights
Invent Now: Hall of Fame
National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc.
A searchable database of inventors, also browsable by inventor, invention, induction date or decade.
Deborah Griscom Passmore Watercolors
USDA. NAL. Special Collections.
Guide to a collection of watercolors by and materials about Deborah Griscom Passmore, a USDA botanical artist.
Isabel S. Cunningham Collection on Frank N. Meyer
USDA. NAL. Special Collections.
Guide to a manuscript collection containing photocopies of original correspondence, documents, and articles relating to the USDA plant explorer Frank N. Meyer.
Biographies--Recent and Historical ArticlesUSDA. National Agricultural Library.
Search for article citations in the NAL catalog (AGRICOLA) on biographies back to 1900. Or search for books.
USDA History Collection
USDA. NAL. Special Collections.
Guide to a collection of manuscript material relating to the 150-year history of the USDA.
World Food Prize Laureates
The World Food Prize.
Information on the recipients of the World Food Prize, which recognizes the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity, or availability of food in the world.
Former Secretaries of Agriculture
United States Department of Agriculture.
Provides brief biographical sketches and photos of all former Secretaries of Agriculture.
Black Farming and Land Loss: A History
Public Broadcasting System.
Documents the history of Blacks in farming from the newly freed slaves of 1863 to today. Includes a timeline, stories of Black farmers and their descendants, and a teachers' guide.
Charles Valentine Riley Collection
USDA. NAL. Special Collections.
Guide to a collection containing correspondence, reports, photographs, and drawings by Charles Valentine Riley, Chief of the Federal Entomological Service in the 1880s.
Agricultural Research Service Science Hall of Fame
USDA. Agricultural Research Service.
Browse the list of men and women who have been inducted into the ARS Science Hall of Fame. These inductees have made a significant impact on the world of agricultural research.
Oral History Interview SeriesUSDA. NAL. Alternative Farming Systems Information Center.
A list of oral history interviews with people who have provided leadership and inspiration in the field of alternative or sustainable agriculture.
The Papers of Wilhelm Heinrich (William Henry) Prestele
USDA. NAL. Special Collections.
Guide to the papers of the first artist of the USDA Pomology Division. Provides a biographical sketch, along with a description of this artistically and scientifically rich collection.
Erwin Frink Smith PapersUSDA. NAL. Special Collections.
Guide to a collection of biographical information, publications, and correspondence by Smith, who served as Chief of Plant Pathology in the Bureau of Plant Industry, USDA, for almost four decades, from 1889 to 1927, and who is recognized as the father of bacterial plant pathology.
Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation
Carnegie Mellon University.
Collects in and provides reference services for the history of botany and all aspects of plant science, including the fields of botanical art, history of science, horticulture, botanic gardens, medicine, scientific education, scientific expeditions, and biographies of botanists.
Women in Agriculture and Rural Life: An International BibliographyUSDA. NAL. Alternative Farming Systems Information Center.
A collection of resources relating to women's involvement in agriculture throughout history.
Agricultural Technology CollectionsUniversity of California at Davis. Shields Library. Special Collections.
Guides to more than 30 manuscript collections relating to the history of agricultural technology and agricultural manufacturers from 1795 to the present.