 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Jonas Webb" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(April 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Jonas Webb (10 November 1796 – 10 November 1862) was anEnglishfarmer and stockbreeder who was responsible for developing theSouthdownbreed ofsheep into its modern form.
Webb was born inGreat Thurlow inSuffolk but began farming inBabraham,Cambridgeshire in 1822. He acquired a flock of the then rare Southdowns fromJohn Ellman ofGlynde,Sussex and bred them to produce a strain of larger size, earlier maturity and improvedfleece quality.
By the 1830s, he had become the leading breeder of Southdowns and in the 1840s and 1850s won prizes at virtually every annualRoyal Agricultural Society exhibition, until in 1860 he won all six prizes offered by the society for rams. He achieved international recognition in 1855 at theParis Universal Exhibition, winning agold medal. EmperorNapoleon III admired his exhibits and was presented with Webb's prize ram in return.
Webb was also a noted breeder ofcattle; hisshorthorn herd was praised by contemporaries and won him several prizes.
Webb died in 1862, shortly after breaking up his flocks and retiring. His sheep were exported all over the world, to countries includingFrance,Spain,Australia andNew Zealand. He was commemorated with astatue at theCambridge Corn Exchange; it is now located in his home village of Babraham.