John H. Klippart

John Hancock Klippart
Born	(1823-07-26)July 26, 1823 Canton, Ohio
Died	October 24, 1878(1878-10-24) (aged 55) Columbus, Ohio
Occupation	Agriculturalist
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John Hancock Klippart (1823–1878) was an American agriculturist and expert on wheat farming.

Biography

Klippart was born in Canton, Ohio on July 26, 1823.[1] He worked for the Ohio State Board of Agriculture and has been described as the most "informed individual" of his time on wheat culture. He published a large book in 1858 documenting information about wheat plants and farming.[2]

Klippart was an early evolutionary thinker to have mentioned the concept of natural selection.[3] According to science historian Conway Zirkle, "In 1858, Klippart showed how nature could displace one variety or species of wheat by another."[4]

He died at his home in Columbus, Ohio on October 24, 1878, aged 55.[5]

Publications

• An Essay on the Origin, Growth, Diseases, Varieties, etc., of the Wheat Plant (1858)
• The Wheat Plant: Its Origin, Culture, Growth, Development, Composition, Varieties, Diseases, Etc., Etc. Together With a Few Remarks on Indian Corn, its Culture, Etc. (1860)
• The Principles and Practice of Land Drainage (1861)

References

1. The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. XVII. James T. White & Company. 1920. pp. 215–216. Retrieved January 1, 2021 – via Google Books.
2. Libecap, Gary D; Steckel, Richard H. (2011). The Economics of Climate Change: Adaptations Past and Present. University of Chicago Press. p. 170. ISBN 0-226-47988-9
3. Ewan, Joseph; Arnold, Chester Arthur. (1969). A Short History of Botany in the United States. Hafner Publishing Company. pp. 61-62. "In 1858, the year in which Darwin and Wallace described natural selection, Klippart of Ohio showed (independently of Darwin and Wallace) how natural selection operated within a cultivated species."
4. Zirkle, Conway. (1959). Species Before Darwin. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. Vol. 103, No. 5. pp. 636-644.
5. "Death of John H. Klippart". Bucyrus Journal. November 1, 1878. p. 4. Retrieved January 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.