In the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada, a gentleman farmer is a landowner who has a farm (gentleman's farm) as part of his estate and who farms mainly for pleasure rather than for profit or sustenance. The Collins English Dictionary defines a gentleman farmer in the United Kingdom as one who is actively involved in farming but does not do it for a living, or a person who happens to own a farm but does not farm it himself (paraphrase). A gentleman farmer of the United States is defined as a rich man who can afford to farm for pleasure, or a rich man who farms not to earn, but because he is interested in it (paraphrase). The farm can vary from under ten to hundreds or even thousands of acres, and may produce any number of types of grains, poultry, or other livestock. A gentleman farmer employs labourers and may also employ a farm manager, and the farm is usually not the chief source of his income. He generally has his own

private income Private income is either: * any type of income received by a private individual or household, often derived from occupational activities, or * income of an individual that is not in the form of a salary, wage, or commission (e.g. income from inves ...

, works in a profession, owns a large business elsewhere, or some combination of the three. Some notable British gentlemen farmers include: Thomas Shaw-Hellier, director of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

Royal Military School of Music The Royal Military School of Music (RMSM) trains musicians for the British Army's fourteen regular bands, as part of the Royal Corps of Army Music. Until August 2021, the school was based at Kneller Hall in Twickenham, however it moved to HMS ...

and a breeder of

Jersey cattle The Jersey is a British breed of small dairy cattle from Jersey, in the British Channel Islands. It is one of three Channel Island cattle breeds, the others being the Alderney – now extinct – and the Guernsey. It is highly productive – c ...

; William Strickland, 6th Baron Boynton, of

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

numismatist A numismatist is a specialist in numismatics ("of coins"; from Late Latin ''numismatis'', genitive of ''numisma''). Numismatists include collectors, specialist dealers, and scholars who use coins and other currency in object-based research. Altho ...

and author of the ''Journal of a Tour of the United States of America, 1794–95''; the pirate Edward Collier, second-in-command to

Sir Henry Morgan Sir Henry Morgan ( cy, Harri Morgan; – 25 August 1688) was a privateer, plantation owner, and, later, Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica. From his base in Port Royal, Jamaica, he raided settlements and shipping on the Spanish Main, becoming w ...

during his expeditions in Spain; and the

Kent County Cricket Club Kent County Cricket Club is one of the eighteen first-class cricket, first-class county cricket, county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent. ...

cricketer Hopper Levett. American examples include

James Roosevelt I James Roosevelt I (July 16, 1828 – December 8, 1900), known as "Squire James", was an American businessman, politician, horse breeder, and the father of Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd president of the United States. Early life Roosevelt was bo ...

, the father of President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As th ...

;

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

, who retired to a farm near

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Gettysburg (; non-locally ) is a borough and the county seat of Adams County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The Battle of Gettysburg (1863) and President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address are named for this town. Gettysburg is home to th ...

, after leaving the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800 ...

;

Winthrop Rockefeller Winthrop Rockefeller (May 1, 1912 – February 22, 1973) was an American politician and philanthropist. Rockefeller was the fourth son and fifth child of American financer John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. He is one of the ...

, son of John D. Rockefeller Jr., who moved to Arkansas in 1953 and established Winrock Farms on

Petit Jean Mountain Petit Jean State Park is a park in Conway County, Arkansas managed by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism. It is located atop Petit Jean Mountain adjacent to the Arkansas River in the area between the Ouachita Mountains and Ozark Platea ...

;

James Jefferson Webster James Jefferson Webster Sr. (September 27, 1898 – May 24, 1965) was an American businessman, farmer, and politician. He owned a dairy and tobacco farm, tobacco warehouses, a general store, and co-ran a car dealership in Rockingham County, Nort ...

, who owned multiple business and served in the Rockingham County local government;

Frederick Hinde Zimmerman Frederick Hinde Zimmerman (October 17, 1864 – September 21, 1924) was an American banker, farmer, real estate entrepreneur, businessman, and hotel owner. Due to his large land holdings and expertise in farming, Zimmerman became a notable farme ...

;

Frank C. Rathje Frank Rathje (August 20, 1882 – February 24, 1967) was a Chicago banker who served as president of the American Bankers Association and the Illinois Bankers' Association during World War II. He founded the Mutual National Bank of Chicago and t ...

; William Locke Allison, known for

Allison Woods Allison Woods is a historic rural retreat and national historic district located near Statesville, Iredell County, North Carolina. It encompasses six contributing buildings, four contributing sites, and three contributing structures on a gentle ...

, which was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1995; and

Robert Williams Daniel Robert Williams Daniel (September 11, 1884 – December 20, 1940) was an American banker who survived the sinking of the RMS ''Titanic'' in 1912, and later became a gentleman farmer and served in the Virginia Senate. Early and family life ...

, a bank executive who survived the sinking of the ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

'' and later married

Margery Durant Margery Pitt Durant (May 24, 1887 – February 3, 1969) was the daughter of businessman and General Motors founder, Billy Durant. She was notable for authoring a book about her father, her contributions to increasing travel abroad via aviation, p ...

, daughter of

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and was the largest in the world for 77 years bef ...

founder Billy Durrant, and was elected to the

Virginia Senate The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Vir ...

in 1935. His farm,

Brandon Brandon may refer to: Names and people *Brandon (given name), a male given name * Brandon (surname), a surname with several different origins Places Australia *Brandon, a farm and 19th century homestead in Seaham, New South Wales * Brandon, ...

, one of the oldest continuous agricultural operations in the United States, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969, and was further declared a U.S.

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1985. and (at Virginia DHR, includes map of the plantation)

References

{{reflist Agricultural occupations American farmers Farms Land management Rural community development Gentry

See also

References