author
Paul Work
1886–1959
A pioneering Cornell horticulturist, he helped shape vegetable education in the United States and wrote practical books that brought expert growing advice to farmers and home gardeners alike.
1 Audiobook
The Tomato
by Paul Work
About the author
Born in Pennsylvania in 1886 and educated in Tennessee, Pennsylvania State College, Cornell, and the University of Minnesota, he built a long academic career around vegetable crops. Cornell records describe him as joining the university in 1910, earning his master's there in 1913, and going on to lead the new Department of Vegetable Gardening, one of the first departments of its kind in the United States.
His work focused on vegetable varieties, plant nutrition, and marketing, and he became especially well known for his writing. Cornell's memorial statement notes that he wrote Vegetable Production and Marketing, The Tomato, and many technical and popular articles, while also serving for decades with the Market Growers Journal.
Remembered as a generous teacher as well as a researcher, he taught at Cornell until retiring in 1951 and received the All-American Selections Award of Honor in 1954 for outstanding achievement in horticulture. He died in Ithaca, New York, in 1959.