Luther Burbank

Self-taught breeding wizard of Santa Rosa who raised over eight hundred plant varieties.

Core Principles & Analysis

• His Russet Burbank potato became the fry-and-bake standard of American agriculture.
• The Shasta daisy took him seventeen years of compound crossing.
• The US Plant Patent Act of 1930 was argued partly on his example — he received patents posthumously.

Specifications & Metrics

• ERA: 1849 – 1926