Shmuel Stoller ( he, שמואל סטולר; August 15, 1898 – March 6, 1977) was an Israeli

agronomist 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 ...

and an early member of the

Zionist movement Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Jew ...

Biography

Stoller was born in 1898 in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. In 1915, he graduated from high school and began to study history and linguistics at

Moscow State University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

. In February 1917, he was drafted into the ranks of the army of the Russian Empire, but he deserted after the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

and moved with his family to the

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

. Stoller studied at

Simferopol Simferopol () is the second-largest city in the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, and is considered the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. However, ...

Agriculture and Natural Sciences. In 1920 he married Yonah. Yonah and Shmuel Stoller

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

Mandate Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 i ...

shortly thereafter and joined the

Gdud HaAvoda Gdud HaAvoda ( he, גדוד העבודה) was a socialist Zionist work group in Mandate Palestine. History Officially known as the Yosef Trumpeldor Labor and Defense Battalion ( he, גדוד העבודה וההגנה על־שם יוסף טרו ...

(''The Work Battalion'') as part of a group headed by

Yitzhak Sadeh Yitzhak Sadeh ( he, יצחק שדה, born Izaak Landoberg, August 10, 1890 – August 20, 1952), was the commander of the Palmach and one of the founders of the Israel Defense Forces at the time of the establishment of the State of Israel. ...

. Stoller became involved in agriculture and agricultural research, and in 1938, he headed a group concentrating on the

Jordan Valley The Jordan Valley ( ar, غور الأردن, ''Ghor al-Urdun''; he, עֵמֶק הַיַרְדֵּן, ''Emek HaYarden'') forms part of the larger Jordan Rift Valley. Unlike most other river valleys, the term "Jordan Valley" often applies just to ...

, and was responsible for developing methods of irrigation, irrigated agriculture and plantations. In particular, Stoller was responsible for the importation and development of conditions suitable for new varieties of bananas, dates and vines. Stoller was one of the founders of

Kvutzat Kinneret Kvutzat Kinneret ( he, קְבוּצַת כִּנֶּרֶת), also known as Kibbutz Kinneret, is a kibbutz in northern Israel. The settlement group ('' kvutza'') was established in 1913, and moved from the Kinneret training farm to the permanent lo ...

. Stoller also devoted himself to education, and in 1946 he was founder and director of the Bet Yerah Agricultural School.

Awards and honours

* In 1965, he was awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

for his work in agriculture.

Family

Shmuel and Jonah Stoller had a large family - they had three sons: Noach, Uri and Menachem; and five daughters: Netta, Sarah, Dinah, Batya and Alik, and twenty-four grandchildren. Both are buried in the Kinneret Cemetery .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stoller, Shmuel 1898 births 1977 deaths Jews in Mandatory Palestine Russian Jews Jewish scientists Israeli agronomists Israel Prize in agriculture recipients Soviet emigrants to Mandatory Palestine 20th-century agronomists

Biography

Awards and honours

Family

See also

References