Frank Engledow facts for kids
Sir Frank Leonard Engledow (born August 20, 1890 – died July 3, 1985) was a British scientist who studied plants and farming. He worked at the Plant Breeding Institute at the University of Cambridge for many years, starting in 1919. He was a special member (called a Fellow) of St John's College.
From 1930 to 1957, he was a top professor, the Drapers Professor of Agriculture, at Cambridge. He also led the School of Agriculture there. Sir Frank gave advice to the British government about growing food, both in Britain and in other countries, from 1927 to 1962. Even after he retired, he kept writing about farming methods and teaching.
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Early Life and Education
Frank Engledow was born in Deptford, Kent. He was the youngest of five children. He went to Dartford Grammar School. After that, he studied math and physics at University College London. He did very well and earned a science degree.
Later, he went to St John's College, Cambridge. He was more interested in using math to solve real-world problems than just studying theories. He was allowed to switch his studies to botany (the study of plants), zoology (the study of animals), and geology (the study of Earth). He earned top grades in these subjects in 1912.
He then became an assistant to R.H. Biffen. Biffen was the first Professor of Agricultural Botany and the first leader of the new Plant Breeding Institute. Frank Engledow started research that combined genetics with math and statistics. This work helped improve crops. He became a Fellow of St John's College in 1919.
World War I Service
Frank Engledow joined the army, the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment, just before World War I began. From 1915 to 1919, his regiment served in India and Mesopotamia (now Iraq). He rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.
During his time overseas, he paid close attention to the farming methods he saw. He even spent several months helping the Director of Agriculture in Mesopotamia. He was given a special award, the Croix de Guerre, in 1918. After the war, he returned to Cambridge to continue his research on agriculture.
Improving Plants at the Institute
The Plant Breeding Institute was a small place, and the work was hard. But important research was done there, especially on growing better wheat and barley. R.H. Biffen had discovered that traits like being resistant to disease or having good grain quality could be passed down.
Engledow used math and statistics to build on Biffen's work. This helped him make these crops even better. He published many important papers on wheat between 1923 and 1930. He also wrote a key paper with G. Udny Yule in 1926 about testing crop yields. His work helped connect geneticists, plant breeders, and field scientists.
His plant breeding efforts led to new types of wheat. Some were created by choosing the best plants, like Rampton Rivet. Others were made by mixing different types, like Holdfast and Steadfast.
In 1921, he married Mildred Emmeline Roper. She was a botany student from South Africa. She became his wife and helped him with his work every day. In 1924, they traveled through Canada and the USA. They visited farms and scientific meetings to learn about farming there.
Leading Agricultural Science
In 1930, Engledow became the Drapers Professor of Agriculture. He had been a lecturer since 1926. Once he became a professor, the School of Agriculture grew a lot. The Plant Breeding Institute expanded, new labs were built, and they started offering advice to farmers. Engledow worked hard to plan changes for the school and its courses. He wanted to show how agricultural science could help produce more food around the world.
During World War II, he helped with food production in Britain. He was also part of important agricultural councils. In 1943, he attended a United Nations conference on Food and Agriculture in the USA. He then wrote a plan for farming policy in the UK, which became very important.
In 1943, he also became a leader at the Nuffield Foundation, a charity. He helped write a report called "Principles for British Agricultural Policy." He was made a Knight Bachelor in 1944, which means he could use "Sir" before his name. In 1946, he was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society, a very respected group of scientists.
After the war, his plans for the School of Agriculture were put into action. He believed that his students should understand real farming practices and how they affect the environment.
Traveling and Advising Countries
Sir Frank Engledow traveled a lot to advise different groups and governments. He helped them improve farming in many countries. Here are some examples of his travels:
- In 1927, he visited Ghana and Nigeria to advise on growing cotton.
- In 1929, he went to Trinidad to check on a Cotton Research Institute and advise on teaching tropical agriculture.
- In 1933, he led a group looking into the Rubber Research Institute in Malaya.
- From 1935 to 1936, he led a group studying how to improve tea farming in places like Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), India, Java, and Sumatra.
- From 1938 to 1939, he was part of a special group that visited British colonies in the West Indies. They looked at social and economic conditions and wrote a report for the government.
- In 1946, he helped choose a place for an Agricultural Research Institute in East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika, and Zanzibar).
- In 1948, he and his wife visited Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) to advise on farming development and education.
- From 1952 to 1953, he traveled through Africa, visiting Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika, and Zanzibar, to advise on cotton growing.
- He made several more trips to places like Assam (India), Trinidad, Kenya, Uganda, Nyasaland (now Malawi), Rhodesia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Malaya (now Malaysia) to advise on various farming issues, including tea and rubber.
His travels helped many countries improve their food production and farming methods.
Personal Life
Sir Frank married Mildred Emmeline Roper in 1921. They had four daughters: Margareth, Catherine, Ruth, and Audrey. From 1931, they lived in a new house called Hadleigh in Cambridge, near the Cambridge University Farm and the Plant Breeding Institute. Mildred passed away in 1956.
Honours
- 1918 Croix de Guerre (a military award from France)
- 1935 Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (a British honour)
- 1944 Knight Bachelor (allowing him to be called "Sir")
- 1946 Fellowship of the Royal Society (a top scientific honour)
- 1957 Emeritus Professor of Agriculture of Cambridge (a title for retired professors)
