Levi Stockbridge

Levi Stockbridge, born March 13, 1820, in Hadley, Massachusetts, and died May 2, 1904, in Amherst, was an American farmer and scientist who proved instrumental in the early development of what is now the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He developed pioneering work in fertilizer formulation, nutrient movement through soil, and mulching techniques, publishing Experiments in Feeding Plants in 1876 and holding multiple patents for his agricultural research; his findings became known as the Stockbridge principle of plant feeding. At Massachusetts Agricultural College he served as farm superintendent from 1867 to 1869, as professor from 1867 to 1879, as acting president in 1876, and as the college's fifth president from 1880 to 1882, a legacy honored today through Stockbridge Hall and the Stockbridge School of Agriculture at UMass Amherst.