William Donald Albright (August 5, 1881 – April 29, 1946) was a Canadian agriculturalist and journalist. In 1954, Albright was named a

Person of National Historic Significance Persons of National Historic Significance (National Historic People) are people designated by the Canadian government as being nationally significant in the history of the country. Designations are made by the Minister of the Environment on the re ...

by the Canadian government.

Biography

William Donald Albright was born on August 5, 1881, at South Cayuga, Ontario. In 1903, Albright graduated from the Ontario Agricultural College. That same year he became the assistant

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

of '' The Maritime Farmer'', a farming periodical based in New Brunswick. Leaving the ''Farmer'' in 1905, Albright subsequently became employed as an associate editor at the ''Farmer's Advocate'', another agricultural publication. In 1908 he married Eva Belle Lossing, from Oxford County, Ontario. In 1913, Albright and his wife left Ontario to homestead in the Peace River area of northwestern Alberta, near the town of

Beaverlodge Beaverlodge is a town in northern Alberta, Canada. It is located on Highway 43, west of Grande Prairie and east of the British Columbia border. History The town was named for the Beaverlodge River, which was known as ''Uz-i-pa'' ("temp ...

, in the vicinity of Grande Prairie. Albright quickly became impressed with the agricultural potential of the region, and soon had agricultural experiments set up on his own land, with a contract to work part-time for the

Central Experimental Farm The Central Experimental Farm (CEF), commonly known as the Experimental Farm, is an agricultural facility, working farm, and research centre of the Science and Technology Branch, formerly the Research Branch, of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. ...

in Ottawa, Ontario. In 1917, the government rented of his land to establish an official experimental substation and paid him to operate it on a part-time basis. He became superintendent of the substation in 1919. By 1940 his entire farm was designated an experimental substation. In 1941, his Beaverlodge experiment substation was redesignated a full-scale experiment station, the northernmost of its type in Canada, and Albright became its director. He was to hold that position until 1945. Albright's professional activities as an agricultural researcher included testing what could potentially be lucrative cereal crops as well as new farming practices. Albright was also entrusted with the promotion of

animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, starti ...

and the planting of ornamental plants in the Alberta farming community, and spent much time travelling throughout the region promoting the idea that it was possible to maintain a good

standard of living Standard of living is the level of income, comforts and services available, generally applied to a society or location, rather than to an individual. Standard of living is relevant because it is considered to contribute to an individual's quality ...

in the lowlands of the Peace River region. He and his wife, who were the parents of three children, also collected material on the region's history by conducting and compiling interviews. Albright died on April 29, 1946, at Haney, British Columbia. In 1954, he was named a

by the Canadian government.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albright, William Donald 1881 births 1946 deaths Settlers of Canada Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Canadian agronomists Canadian male journalists Journalists from Ontario Peace River Country People from Haldimand County Canadian civil servants