Liberty Hyde Bailey

Liberty Hyde Bailey (1858-1954) was an American horticulturist, botanist and cofounder of the American Society for Horticultural Science. Born in South Haven, Michigan, as the third son of farmers Liberty Hyde Bailey Sr. and Sarah Harrison Bailey, Bailey entered the Michigan Agricultural College (now Michigan State University) in 1878 and graduated in 1882. The next year, he became assistant to the renowned botanist Asa Gray. The same year, he ma... more

Liberty Hyde Bailey (1858-1954) was an American horticulturist, botanist and cofounder of the American Society for Horticultural Science. Born in South Haven, Michigan, as the third son of farmers Liberty Hyde Bailey Sr. and Sarah Harrison Bailey, Bailey entered the Michigan Agricultural College (now Michigan State University) in 1878 and graduated in 1882. The next year, he became assistant to the renowned botanist Asa Gray. The same year, he married Annette Smith, the daughter of a Michigan cattle breeder, whom he met at the Michigan Agricultural College. They had two daughters, Sara May, born in 1887, and Ethel Zoe, born in 1889. In 1885, he moved to Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, where he in 1888 assumed the chair of Practical and Experimental Horticulture. He founded the College of Agriculture, and in 1904 he was able to secure public funding. He was dean of what was then known as New York State College of Agriculture from 1903-1913. In 1908, he was appointed Chairman of... less