Oskar (Oscar) Johann Kellner (13 May 1851 - 12 September 1911) was a German

agricultural scientist 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 ...

(''Agrikulturchemiker, Tierphysiologe'').

Biography

Kellner was invited to teach in Japan as a foreign advisor by the

Meiji government The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji o ...

of the

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of Japan, 1947 constitu ...

to improve on Japanese agricultural productivity. Arriving on 5 November 1881, he taught at the Komaba Agricultural School in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, and its successor, the Tokyo Agriculture and Forestry School (now a department within

Tokyo University , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

), and also conducted research into

chemical fertilizer A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...

s. He is considered the “father” of Japanese

agricultural chemistry Agricultural chemistry is the study of chemistry, especially organic chemistry and biochemistry, as they relate to agriculture—agricultural production, the processing of raw products into foods and beverages, and environmental monitoring and r ...

. His nutritional analysis of livestock feed was called the “Kellner Standard” and was subsequently adopted by the Japanese livestock industry. Kellner returned to Germany on 31 December 1892. The Kellner rice fields at Komabano Park close to the

University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project b ...

Komaba campus, serve as a lasting tribute to his research activities while in Japan.

Works

* ''die Ernährung der landwirtschaftlichen Nutztiere'', 1905 * ''Grundzüge der Fütteringslehre'', 1907

External links

*
from Tokyo University Department of Agricultural Sciences
(Japanese) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kellner, Oskar 1851 births 1911 deaths People from Opole County German expatriates in Japan Foreign advisors to the government in Meiji-period Japan Foreign educators in Japan Agriculture in Japan People from the Province of Silesia German agronomists University of Tokyo faculty