Franklin David Keim (1886-1956) was a professor at the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

where he studied plant genetics, grasses, and grazing.Did you know? Nebraska played a major role in advancement of plant genetics and crop breeding
/ref> He served as the chair of the University of Nebraska Department of

Agronomy Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and ...

for 22 years from 1930 to 1952. He was elected a fellow of the

American Society of Agronomy The American Society of Agronomy (ASA) is a scientific and professional society of agronomists and scientists of related disciplines, principally in the United States but with many non-U.S. members as well. About It was founded December 13, 190 ...

in 1937 and served as the president of the American Society of Agronomy in 1943. The University of Nebraska's Keim Hall is named in his honor.

Early life and education

Keim was born on September 10, 1886, in

Hardy, Nebraska Hardy is a village in Nuckolls County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 159 at the 2010 census. History Hardy was platted in 1880 when the railroad was extended to that point. It was named for a railroad official. 1925 editionis avai ...

. He attended Bethany College in 1904 and received a teacher's certificate from

Peru State College Peru State College is a public college in Peru, Nebraska. Founded by members of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1865, making it the first and oldest institution of higher education in Nebraska, it underwent several name changes before receiving ...

in 1909. He worked as a principal for several years before moving to

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

, to attend the University of Nebraska. He earned his bachelor's degree in 1914 and a master's degree in 1918. During his time as a student he meet Rollins A. Emerson prior to Emerson's move from Nebraska to

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

. He married his wife Alice Mary Voigt in 1914. They had two children, Virginia Voigt Honstead and Wayne Franklin Keim. Wayne ultimately also became an agronomist, professor, and chair of the department of agronomy at Colorado State University.

Career

After completing his bachelor's, Keim worked at the University of Nebraska as an extension agronomist. After completing his master's degree, he became a professor in the Department of Agronomy. Keim's interest in plant genetics lead him to pursue a PhD with Emerson, now at Cornell. He employed sabbaticals and annual leaves to earn a PhD from Emerson at Cornell while continuing to serve as a faculty member at the University of Nebraska, completing his PhD in 1927. In 1930 he became the chair of the Agronomy department, a position held for the next twenty-two years. During his time as chair the size of the department doubled and he built connections with the

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

with federal government researchers stationed at and working within the department. From 1945 to 1946 he was sent to France to teach plant genetics and agronomy to US army soldiers waiting to return home from the war at Biarritz American University. Upon Keim's death in 1956, the building that housed the Agronomy department was renamed Keim Hall in his honor. In 1934 he published ''Common Grass Weeds of Nebraska''.

Mentoring

* George F. Sprague, undergraduate mentee, National Academy of Sciences member *

George Beadle George Wells Beadle (October 22, 1903 – June 9, 1989) was an American geneticist. In 1958 he shared one-half of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Edward Tatum for their discovery of the role of genes in regulating biochemical even ...

, masters mentee, National Academy of Sciences member, Nobel Prize winner

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keim, Franklin David 1886 births 1956 deaths American geneticists Cornell University alumni University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumni University of Nebraska–Lincoln faculty Presidents of the American Society of Agronomy