Walter Ernest Christopher James, 4th Baron Northbourne (18 January 1896 – 17 June 1982), was an English

agriculturalist 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 ...

, author and

rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is ...

who competed in the

1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1920; nl, Olympische Zomerspelen van 1920; german: Olympische Sommerspiele 1920), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIe olympiade; nl, Spelen van ...

Life

James was the son of

Walter James, 3rd Baron Northbourne Walter John James, 3rd Baron Northbourne (2 September 1869 – 22 December 1932), was an English painter, etcher, and hereditary peer. Biography James was born on 2 September 1869. He is the son of Walter James, 2nd Baron Northbourne, and his wi ...

, and his wife Laura Gwennlian (née Rice). He was educated at

Sandroyd School Sandroyd School is an independent co-educational preparatory school for day and boarding pupils aged 2 to 13 in the south of Wiltshire, England. The school's main building is Rushmore House, a 19th-century country house which is surrounded by the ...

and

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

, then

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

where he studied agricultural science and was also an accomplished rower. In 1920 he was a member of the

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

crew in the

Boat Race Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...

. He was also a member of the Leander eight which won the silver medal for Great Britain

rowing at the 1920 Summer Olympics Rowing at the 1920 Summer Olympics, the first Olympics after World War I, saw five events. The competitions were held from 27 to 29 August in Antwerp, Belgium. The event was marked by the arrival of future triple gold medalists John B. Kelly Sr ...

, coming within half a length of winning. In 1921 he rowed for Oxford again in the Boat Race. Lord Northbourne married in 1925 Katherine Louise, daughter of George Augustus Nickerson, of Boston and

Dedham, Massachusetts Dedham ( ) is a town in and the county seat of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 25,364 at the 2020 census. It is located on Boston's southwest border. On the northwest it is bordered by Needham, on the southwest b ...

, and Ellen Nickerson (''née'' Touzalin, later wife of Sir

Horace Hood Rear Admiral Sir Horace Lambert Alexander Hood, (2 October 1870 – 31 May 1916) was a Royal Navy admiral of the First World War, whose lengthy and distinguished service saw him engaged in operations around the world, frequently participating i ...

). She died in 1980. Lord Northbourne survived her by two years and died in June 1982, aged 86. He was succeeded in his titles by his son

Christopher Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...

Agriculture and writing

James later applied the theories of

Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century as a ...

to the family estate at Kent. In 1939 he travelled to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

to visit the leading exponent of

biodynamic agriculture Biodynamic agriculture is a form of alternative agriculture based on pseudo-scientific and esoteric concepts initially developed in 1924 by Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925). It was the first of the organic farming movements. It treats soil fertility, ...

Ehrenfried Pfeiffer Ehrenfried Pfeiffer (19 February 1899 – 30 November 1961) was a German scientist, soil scientist, leading advocate of biodynamic agriculture, anthroposophist and student of Rudolf Steiner. Life Ehrenfried Pfeiffer began work with Rudolf St ...

.Paull, John (2011
"The Betteshanger Summer School: Missing link between biodynamic agriculture and organic farming"
Journal of Organic Systems, 6(2):13–26. The outcome of that visit was that he hosted, at his farm in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, the

Betteshanger Betteshanger is a village near Deal in East Kent, England. It gave its name to the largest of the four chief collieries of the Kent coalfield. The population of the village is included in the civil parish of Northbourne. Before the coal mine ...

Summer School and Conference, the first biodynamic farming conference to be held in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

. It has been claimed that Northbourne coined the phrase "organic farming", but Northbourne explicitly denied this. In a letter to Ned Halley of the Rodale Press, he wrote: "I was certainly not the first to apply the word 'organic' to farming or gardening. I have never known the ideas and practices involved under any other name". While he is certainly one of the central figures of the early organic movement, it is arguable that

Albert Howard Sir Albert Howard (8 December 187320 October 1947) was an English botanist. His academic background might have been botany. While working in India he was generally considered a Pathologist; this more than likely being the reason for his consist ...

was of greater importance. Northbourne published ''Look to the Land'' in 1940, which raises many of the issues current to discussions of organic agriculture. After reading ''Look to the Land'', the philosopher and author

Marco Pallis Marco may refer to: People * Marco (given name), people with the given name Marco * Marco (actor) (born 1977), South Korean model and actor * Georg Marco (1863–1923), Romanian chess player of German origin * Tomás Marco (born 1942), Spanish co ...

contacted Northbourne and later introduced him to the writings of the Traditionalist (also known as

Perennialist The perennial philosophy ( la, philosophia perennis), also referred to as perennialism and perennial wisdom, is a perspective in philosophy and spirituality that views all of the world's religious traditions as sharing a single, metaphysical trut ...

) philosophy. Northbourne eventually integrated this thinking into his own writings and life, and became a correspondent with many of the most prominent writers of this school, as well as with

Thomas Merton Thomas Merton (January 31, 1915 – December 10, 1968) was an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, mystic, poet, social activist and scholar of comparative religion. On May 26, 1949, he was ordained to the Catholic priesthood and giv ...

."Lord Northbourne: Life and Work."

World Wisdom World Wisdom is an independent American publishing company established in 1980 in Bloomington, Indiana. World Wisdom publishes religious and philosophical texts, including the work of authors such as Frithjof Schuon, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Titus Bu ...

World Wisdom Authors, Lord Northbourne
/ref> He was also a frequent contributor to the quarterly journal '' Studies in Comparative Religion'', which dealt with

religious symbolism A religious symbol is an iconic representation intended to represent a specific religion, or a specific concept within a given religion. Religious symbols have been used in the military in many countries, such as the United States military chapl ...

and the Traditionalist perspective.Paull, John (2014
Lord Northbourne, the man who invented organic farming, a biography
Journal of Organic Systems, 9 (1), pp. 31–53. Lord Northbourne was the English translator for the works of several fellow Traditionalists including

René Guénon René Jean-Marie-Joseph Guénon (15 November 1886 – 7 January 1951), also known as ''Abdalwâhid Yahiâ'' (; ''ʿAbd al-Wāḥid Yaḥiā'') was a French intellectual who remains an influential figure in the domain of metaphysics, having writte ...

's major work, ''The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times'', ''Light on the Ancient Worlds'' by

Frithjof Schuon Frithjof Schuon (, , ; 18 June 1907 – 5 May 1998) was a Swiss metaphysician of German descent, belonging to the Perennialist or Traditionalist School of thought. He was the author of more than twenty works in French on metaphysics, spiritual ...

, and ''Sacred Art in East and West'' by

Titus Burckhardt Titus Burckhardt (24 October 1908 – 15 January 1984) was a Swiss writer and a leading member of the Perennialist or Traditionalist School. He was the author of numerous works on metaphysics, cosmology, anthropology, esoterism, alchemy, Sufism ...

Bibliography

*''Look to the Land'' (1940) *''Religion in the Modern World'' (1963) *''Looking Back on Progress'' (1970) *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Northbourne, Walter James, 4th Baron 1896 births 1982 deaths Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford People educated at Sandroyd School English agronomists English non-fiction writers English male rowers English religious writers English translators Olympic rowers of Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in rowing Organic farmers Rowers at the 1920 Summer Olympics Oxford University Boat Club rowers Traditionalist School 20th-century British translators English male non-fiction writers Medalists at the 1920 Summer Olympics 20th-century English non-fiction writers 20th-century English male writers People from Northbourne, Kent Walter 4 20th-century agronomists

Life

Agriculture and writing

Bibliography

See also

References