Read Next
Discover
W. Atlee Burpee
American seedsman
Also known as: Washington Atlee Burpee
- In full:
- Washington Atlee Burpee
- Born:
- April 5, 1858, Sheffield, New Brunswick, Canada
- Died:
- November 26, 1915, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, U.S. (aged 57)
- Subjects Of Study:
- seed propagation
W. Atlee Burpee (born April 5, 1858, Sheffield, New Brunswick, Canada—died November 26, 1915, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, U.S.) was an American seedsman who founded the world’s largest mail-order seed company. After completing two years at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, Burpee borrowed $1,000 from his mother and set up a mail-order poultry business with a partner in 1876. Two years later he struck out on his own and founded the company that continued to bear his name, W. Atlee Burpee & Co. Seeking to diversify his business, he began breeding dogs and livestock and added seeds to his catalog to ...(100 of 206 words)