F. H. (Franklin Hiram) King

Born near Whitewater, Wisconsin, in 1848, Franklin Hiram King grew up on a farm and went on to study at Whitewater State Normal School and Cornell University. He became an agricultural scientist and teacher, with work connected to River Falls State Normal School, the University of Wisconsin, and later the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

King was known for combining careful measurement with practical problem-solving. Sources credit him with inventing the cylindrical tower silo and a gravity ventilation system for dairy barns, showing the hands-on, farm-centered approach that made his work widely useful.

He is especially remembered today for Farmers of Forty Centuries: Or Permanent Agriculture in China, Korea and Japan, published in 1911. The book helped preserve and share his observations on intensive, long-lasting agricultural methods, and it continues to be cited by readers interested in soils, sustainability, and the history of farming.