John Hancock Klippart (1823–1878) was an American

agriculturist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.), is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the U ...

and expert on

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

farming.

Biography

Klippart was born in

Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in and the county seat of Stark County, Ohio. It is located approximately south of Cleveland and south of Akron in Northeast Ohio. The city lies on the edge of Ohio's extensive Amish country, particularly in Holmes and ...

on July 26, 1823. Klippart worked for the Ohio State Board of Agriculture and has been described as the most "informed individual" of his time on wheat culture. He published a large book in 1858 documenting information about wheat plants and farming. Klippart was an early evolutionary thinker to have mentioned the concept of

natural selection Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the heritable traits characteristic of a population over generations. Charle ...

. According to science historian

Conway Zirkle Conway Zirkle (October 28, 1895 – March 28, 1972) was an American botanist and historian of science. Zirkle was professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania. He was highly critical of Lamarckism, Lysenkoism and Marxian biology.Joravsk ...

"In 1858, Klippart showed how nature could displace one variety or species of wheat by another." He died at his home in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

on October 24, 1878.

Publications

* ''An Essay on the Origin, Growth, Diseases, Varieties, etc., of the Wheat Plant'' (1858)
''The Wheat Plant: Its Origin, Culture, Growth, Development, Composition, Varieties, Diseases, Etc., Etc. Together With a Few Remarks on Indian Corn, its Culture, Etc.
' (1860)
''The Principles and Practice of Land Drainage''
(1861)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Klippart, John H. 1823 births 1878 deaths American agriculturalists Proto-evolutionary biologists