Thomas Campbell | |
|---|---|
 Time cover, January 1928 | |
| Born | February 19, 1882 |
| Died | March 18, 1966 (aged 84) |
| Alma mater | University of North Dakota |
| Known for | Farming, Agriculturist |
Thomas D. Campbell (1882–1966) was the "World's Wheat King". On the farms of hisCampbell Farming Corporation he grew morewheat than any other farmer or corporation.[1] He pioneered industrializedcorporate farming. As a consultant inagriculture, he advised the British, French and Soviet governments, including advisingStalin in 1929 on large-scale farming for theSoviet Union'sfirst five-year plan. He served in the U.S. military inWorld War II and developed thenapalm fire bomb used in thePacific Theatre. He became abrigadier general in theAir Force in 1946.[2]
Thomas was born Thomas D. Campbell Jr., on February 19, 1882, in North Dakota to Thomas Campbell Sr. and Almira (Richards) Campbell.[note 1]The couple were of Scottish descent and had immigrated to North Dakota fromPerth, Ontario, in 1875. The couple built a log cabin on 80 acres of land that they had purchased. Thomas was valedictorian ofCentral High School in 1898, attended preparatory school atUpper Canada College, and later graduated from theUniversity of North Dakota. He was the first to graduate in engineering from the latter school, in 1904. In 1906 he married Bess McBride Bull, daughter of George Bull, co-founder ofCream of Wheat, and the couple moved toPasadena, California.[1]
Soon after arriving in California, Thomas started working for the J.S. Torrance Farming Corporation in California. He later founded the Campbell Farming Corporation.[1] With America's entry into theFirst World War, Thomas was part of a group of men who believed the slogan that “Food Would Will the War.” Realizing that wheat would be an integral part of this strategy, Campbell presented a plan to the federal government that would use power equipment to cultivate mass acreages of semi-arid land. He was then told to find land suitable for such an undertaking. He selected four large tracts of land on the Shoshone, Blackfoot, Fort Peck, and Crow Indian reservations in Montana and Wyoming. One of the main stipulations of such an agreement was that the tribes would receive ten percent of the crop's cash value. The Crow lands Campbell selected were bench land on the western side of theBighorn River and south of Beauvais Creek.[3][4] He acquired $2,000,000 financing fromJ.P. Morgan and began farming 200,000 acres (81,000 ha) on theCrow Indian Reservation north of the Big Horn River in Montana.[3]
TheThomas D. Campbell House, his childhood home, is listed on the U.S.National Register of Historic Places
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
