Richard Lamb Allen

Born in Massachusetts in 1803, Richard Lamb Allen was educated at Westfield Academy and briefly studied law before turning to a more active life for health reasons. After business ventures in Buffalo were disrupted by the Panic of 1837, he spent years farming along the Niagara River, an experience that shaped the practical tone of his writing.

In the 1840s he helped launch the American Agriculturist with his brother Anthony B. Allen, becoming part of the growing world of agricultural publishing in the United States. He later lived on Staten Island and wrote a series of useful books for farmers, including A Brief Compend of American Agriculture, The American Farm Book, and works on domestic animals and their diseases.

Allen's books aimed to be hands-on and clear, covering crops, equipment, and livestock in ways that would help working farmers. He died in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1869, leaving behind a body of writing that reflects the practical, improving spirit of American agriculture in the mid-19th century.