Arthur Stayner (29 March 1835 – 4 September 1899) was an English horticulturist who emigrated to the United States and became important in the founding of the

sugar beet A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and which is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together wi ...

industry in

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

Beet sugar

The first entrepreneurs to try to make sugar from beets in Utah were the

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

pioneers in the early 1850s, who used machinery shipped from

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, England, but their attempts to produce

granulated sugar White sugar, also called table sugar, granulated sugar, or regular sugar, is a commonly used type of sugar, made either of beet sugar or cane sugar, which has undergone a refining process. Description The refining process completely removes ...

failed because they could not overcome the problems created by growing beets in

alkali soils Alkali, or Alkaline, soils are clay soils with high pH (greater than 8.5), a poor soil structure and a low infiltration capacity. Often they have a hard calcareous layer at 0.5 to 1 metre depth. Alkali soils owe their unfavorable physico ...

. Stayner studied the sugar industry in California. He was energetic and using his property, he conducted experiments with sugar cane,

sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...

cane, and sugar beets in

. In 1887, he produced the first 7,000 pounds of commercial sugar in Utah and received a $5000 award from the legislature. With the support of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church) and other business leaders, he formed the

Utah Sugar Company Utah ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its so ...

in 1889 with 20 stockholders. This company was ultimately instrumental in building a $400,000 beet sugar factory constructed by

E. H. Dyer Ebenezer Herrick Dyer (April 17, 1822 – 1906) was an American businessman who established the first successful commercial beet sugar mill in the U.S., and as such, was called the "father of the American beet sugar industry". Dyer was born in ...

in 1891 at Lehi. The company was so successful that it encouraged the building of other factories in Utah and Idaho that resulted in great economic growth in the two states from the research and the manufacturing of sugars and sugar syrups.

Death and legacy

Stayner became a prominent citizen of

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

. He died on 4 September 1899 from

sepsis Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

stemming from a lead pellet which became embedded in his heel. Although a physician considered amputation of his limb, the infection had permeated his body, and it was too late to save him. Although Stayner was not interested in financial gain from sugar manufacture, because of the energetic work, he is regarded as the "father and founder of the movement that made the manufacture of sugar in Utah a success."

Notes

External links

The Sugar Beet Industry and Economic Growth in the West
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stayner, Arthur British emigrants to the United States 1835 births 1899 deaths Businesspeople from Utah 19th-century American businesspeople

Beet sugar

Death and legacy

See also

Notes

External links