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Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Beal, W. J. (William James), 1833-1924
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Dates of existence
1833-1924
History
William James Beal was born on March 11, 1833, in Adrian, Lenawee County, Michigan.
He was an American botanist and a pioneer in the development of hybrid corn. He studied at the University of Michigan where he earned his B.A. degree (1859) and his M.A. degree (1865). He received his B.Sc. degree from Harvard University in 1865 and his M.Sc. from the University of Chicago in 1875. Between 1858 and 1861 he was a teacher of Natural Sciences at Friends Academy at Union Springs, New York. In 1871, he became the Head of the Botany Department at the Michigan Agricultural College (now University of Michigan) and stayed in this position for forty years. He led the research using cross-fertilization to increase the yield from 8 rowed Indian corn to 24 rowed hybrid corn. He also founded the W. J. Beal Botanical Garden in 1877, making it the oldest continuously operated botanical garden in the United States.
He died on May 12, 1924, in East Lansing, Ingham County, Michigan.
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Authority record identifier
no2005089998