Richard Lamb Allen

Richard Lamb Allen was an American agricultural writer born in Westfield, Massachusetts, on October 20, 1803. Reliable library and literary-reference sources identify him as a writer on agriculture, and his career is closely tied to practical farm instruction for American readers.

His best-known books include The American Farm Book and Domestic Animals, works that gathered advice on crops, soils, livestock, and day-to-day farm management. The surviving listings of his books suggest a writer focused less on literary flourish than on giving farmers and stock raisers useful, organized information they could put to work.

Allen died in Stockholm, Sweden, on September 22, 1869. Even now, his books remain visible through public-domain and library collections, which helps explain why he is still remembered as one of the recognizable American voices in 19th-century agricultural writing.