Charles S. Plumb papers

Charles Sumner Plumb was born in Westfield, Massachusetts, April 21, 1860. He was educated in the schools of Massachusetts. He was a graduate of the Massachusetts Agricultural College. Following graduation, he became Associate Editor of the Rural New Yorker, his first step on his long history of service to agriculture. He then accepted invitations, in turn, to become Director of the Agricultural Experiment Stations in the states of New York, Tennessee, and Indiana. He joined the staff at Ohio State University in 1902 as Professor of Animal Husbandry. During his thirty-seven years of service at Ohio State, he devoted himself unceasingly to the cause of agriculture. Plumb was a pioneer in the field of animal husbandry, being one of the first to organize the study of livestock as a distinct branch of agriculture. His book, "Types and Breeds of Farm Animals", published in 1906, promptly became one of the two most widely read books relating to livestock production. Many honors in recognition of his competency as a great animal husbandry leader came to Professor Plumb. Foreign nations have translated his textbooks for use in their schools and colleges. He was cited for distinguished service to agriculture and decorated by the French Government. His portrait, along with those of other great leaders of animal husbandry, hangs in the gallery of the famous Saddle and Sirloin Club in Chicago. He has been the recipient of Honorary Doctorates from Massachusetts Agricultural College, Purdue University, Ohio State University. Charles S. Plumb died in Columbus, Ohio, March 4, 1939, at the age of seventy-nine years.