David Burpee (April 5, 1893 – June 24,1980) was a seedsman and president of the W.A. Burpee Company from 1915 until 1970. He was known for his experimentation and hybridization of vegetables and flowers that were for the general population.[1]
David Burpee was born on April 5, 1893, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[2] He attended Blight School and Doylestown High School, and later Culver Military Academy in Indiana. In 1913, he enrolled in Cornell University to study agriculture until his father, W. Atlee Burpee, died in 1915. Burpee dropped out and took over the family business selling seeds.[3][2]
In 1937, Burpee married Lois Torrance after meeting her at a flower show.[4]
Careeredit
As head of Burpee Seeds, he immediately began shifting the firm's focus from vegetables to flowers. In 1917 the W. A. Burpee Company was incorporated with Burpee as president. Sales were $900,000 that year, equal to $20,557,403 today.
Burpee initiated a War Gardens campaign during World War I when overseas seed supplies were interrupted and there were food shortages. These programs were aimed at city folk, teaching them how to grow food during shortages by buying Burpee seeds. During the 1930s the company started a cross-breeding program to produce healthier and more disease-resistant hybrids. This period also saw the development of Golden Gleam, a double nasturtium, the Big Boy tomato, the Ambrosiacantaloupe, and also new varieties of petunias and marigolds.
During the 1940s Burpee moved on to genetic engineering, altering flower chromosomes using the chemical colchicine extracted from crocus plants. This research led to new varieties of snapdragons and zinnia. World War II meant more shortages and another opportunity to sell seeds in the Victory Gardens campaign.
By 1959 Burpee had grown his father's company into the largest seed catalog mail order house in the world with sales over $6 million, equal to $60,232,877 today. In 1960 Burpee mailed 4 million seed annuals to customers.[citation needed] By 1960, he had hybridized the marigold to be odorless and it became the best-selling flower in the United States. He later unsuccessfully lobbied to make the marigold the national flower.[3]
In 1970, Burpee sold the company to General Foods and in 1979 it was passed on to ITT. Both companies retained David Burpee as a consultant until his death. His son Jonathan Burpee was the director of the customer service department during the 1970s. He left the company in 1993.
In 1991 the Burpee company was acquired by George J. Ball, Inc. (now Ball Horticultural Company), a diversified horticultural family business. In 1995 the family split up the various holdings, with George Ball Jr. taking control of Burpee.
^"Dean of American Gardeners". Des Moines Tribune. June 29, 1976. p. 22. Retrieved November 22, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^ abThe National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. XVI. James T. White & Company. 1918. pp. 286–287. Retrieved December 11, 2020 – via Google Books.
^ abc"D.W. Burpee, 87, the Leader Among Seedsmen Dies". The Philadelphia Inquirer. June 25, 1980. pp. 1, 7. Retrieved November 21, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Fordhook plantings; A family garden". The Record. March 21, 1976. p. 29. Retrieved November 22, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
david, burpee, april, 1893, june, 1980, seedsman, president, burpee, company, from, 1915, until, 1970, known, experimentation, hybridization, vegetables, flowers, that, were, general, population, born, 1893, april, 1893philadelphia, pennsylvaniadiedjune, 1980,. David Burpee April 5 1893 June 24 1980 was a seedsman and president of the W A Burpee Company from 1915 until 1970 He was known for his experimentation and hybridization of vegetables and flowers that were for the general population 1 David BurpeeBorn 1893 04 05 April 5 1893Philadelphia PennsylvaniaDiedJune 24 1980 1980 06 24 aged 87 Doylestown PennsylvaniaEducationCulver Military AcademyOccupationSeedsmanSpouseLois Torrance m 1937 wbr Signature Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Career 3 References 3 1 BibliographyEarly life and education editDavid Burpee was born on April 5 1893 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania 2 He attended Blight School and Doylestown High School and later Culver Military Academy in Indiana In 1913 he enrolled in Cornell University to study agriculture until his father W Atlee Burpee died in 1915 Burpee dropped out and took over the family business selling seeds 3 2 In 1937 Burpee married Lois Torrance after meeting her at a flower show 4 Career editAs head of Burpee Seeds he immediately began shifting the firm s focus from vegetables to flowers In 1917 the W A Burpee Company was incorporated with Burpee as president Sales were 900 000 that year equal to 20 557 403 today Burpee initiated a War Gardens campaign during World War I when overseas seed supplies were interrupted and there were food shortages These programs were aimed at city folk teaching them how to grow food during shortages by buying Burpee seeds During the 1930s the company started a cross breeding program to produce healthier and more disease resistant hybrids This period also saw the development of Golden Gleam a double nasturtium the Big Boy tomato the Ambrosia cantaloupe and also new varieties of petunias and marigolds During the 1940s Burpee moved on to genetic engineering altering flower chromosomes using the chemical colchicine extracted from crocus plants This research led to new varieties of snapdragons and zinnia World War II meant more shortages and another opportunity to sell seeds in the Victory Gardens campaign By 1959 Burpee had grown his father s company into the largest seed catalog mail order house in the world with sales over 6 million equal to 60 232 877 today In 1960 Burpee mailed 4 million seed annuals to customers citation needed By 1960 he had hybridized the marigold to be odorless and it became the best selling flower in the United States He later unsuccessfully lobbied to make the marigold the national flower 3 In 1970 Burpee sold the company to General Foods and in 1979 it was passed on to ITT Both companies retained David Burpee as a consultant until his death His son Jonathan Burpee was the director of the customer service department during the 1970s He left the company in 1993 In 1991 the Burpee company was acquired by George J Ball Inc now Ball Horticultural Company a diversified horticultural family business In 1995 the family split up the various holdings with George Ball Jr taking control of Burpee Burpee died in Doylestown on June 24 1980 3 References edit Dean of American Gardeners Des Moines Tribune June 29 1976 p 22 Retrieved November 22 2019 via Newspapers com a b The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography Vol XVI James T White amp Company 1918 pp 286 287 Retrieved December 11 2020 via Google Books a b c D W Burpee 87 the Leader Among Seedsmen Dies The Philadelphia Inquirer June 25 1980 pp 1 7 Retrieved November 21 2019 via Newspapers com Fordhook plantings A family garden The Record March 21 1976 p 29 Retrieved November 22 2019 via Newspapers com Bibliography edit Great American Business Leaders David Burpee at the Wayback Machine archived August 16 2007 Biography of David Burpee Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title David Burpee amp oldid 1148518225, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
