Thomas D. Campbell

Thomas D. Campbell (1882–1966) was the "World's Wheat King". On the farms of his Campbell Farming Corporation he grew more wheat than any other farmer or corporation.[1] He pioneered industrialized corporate farming. As a consultant in agriculture, he advised the British, French and Soviet governments, including advising Stalin in 1929 on large-scale farming for the Soviet Union's first five-year plan. He served in the U.S. military in World War II and developed the napalm fire bomb used in the Pacific Theatre. He became a Brigadier General in the Air Force in 1946.[2]

Early life

Thomas was born Thomas D. Campbell, Jr., on February 19, 1882 in North Dakota.[note 1] He was valedictorian of Central High School in 1898. He attended preparatory school Upper Canada College, and then the University of North Dakota. He was the first to graduate in engineering from the latter school, in 1904.[1]

Farming

Rather than enlist to fight in World War I, he proposed farming on a huge scale to support the war effort.[3] He acquired $2,000,000 financing from J.P. Morgan and began farming 200,000 acres (81,000 ha) on the Crow Indian Reservation north of the Big Horn River in Montana.[4] Due to his efforts in farming, he became the biggest U.S. farmer, earning him the 1928 Time Magazine "Man of the Year"--the only North Dakotan to have earned this honor.[5]

Death and memorial

The Thomas D. Campbell House, his childhood home, is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places

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See also

Notes
  1. The log cabin portion of the Thomas D. Campbell House, in Grand Forks, North Dakota, has been called his birthplace. He was also said to have been born in a sod house in the Red River Valley ().

Further reading
  • "Thomas D. Campbell: The Plower of the Plains", by Hiram Drache, Agricultural History Vol. 51, No. 1, Agriculture in the Great Plains, 1876-1936: A Symposium (Jan., 1977), pp. 78–91

References
  1. "Campbell House". Grand Forks Historical Society. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  2. Roberts, Dr. Norene A. (September 29, 1987). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Thomas D Campbell House". National Park Service. p. 8.
  3. "Campbell Farming Corporation records, 1918-1975: Overview". Archives West.
  4. "Thomas D. Campbell / Campbell Farming Corporation-Hardin, MT". Yellowstone Genealogy Forum. June 20, 2001.
  5. http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19280109,00.html
  6. Chere Jiusto (July 1991). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Camp Four". National Park Service. Retrieved January 4, 2016. with 23 photos from 1991
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