Eugene W. Hilgard

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Eugene Woldemar Hilgard (1833, Bavaria – 1916) was an expert on pedology (study of soil resources).

Born in Germany, he was brought to the United States in 1836. He studied at Heidelberg and Zürich, (1848 – 1854) during which time he was awarded a Ph.D. by the University of Heidelberg, 1853. He was appointed assistant on the state geological survey of Mississippi, (1855), and director in 1858. He was subsequently appointed professor of chemistry, University of Mississippi in 1866. He served a professor of geology and natural history at the University of Michigan, (1873 – 1875). An authority on soil chemistry and reclamation of alkali soils, he was professor of agriculture and director of the Agricultural Experiment Station, University of California, Berkeley (1875 – 1904). He is considered the father of modern soil science in the USA.

[edit] Publications

• (1884) Report on the Physical and Agricultural Features of the State of California, with a discussion of the present and future of cotton production in the state.

• (1885) The Phylloxera at Berkeley

• (1906) Soils, Their Formation, Properties, Composition, and Relations to Climate and Plant Growth in the Humid and Arid Regions

[edit] References

• Jenny, Hans (1961) E.W. Hilgard and the birth of modern soil science. Pisa, Italy. 144 pp., illus