Luther Burbank Biography

Luther Burbank is widely regarded as the father of modern plant breeding. Beginning in 1870, Luther Burbank developed more than 800 new strains of fruits, vegetables, flowers and grasses; his ideas in general, and many of his hybrids in particular, were important to the revolution in agriculture and food production in the 20th century. One of his earliest creations was the Burbank potato, a blight-resistant crop which was heavily planted in Ireland. Luther Burbank began his career in Massachusetts but spent most of his working life in Santa Rosa, California, where his home is now a National Historic Landmark.