Johnson, Samuel William

Johnson, Samuel William (1830–1909) agricultural chemist; born in Kingsboro, N.Y. After studying at Yale and completing his graduate work in Germany, he returned to become a professor at Yale (1856). His own research on soils, crop rotation, soil analysis, plant nutrition, fertilizers, and food adulteration advanced scientific agriculture in the U.S.A. He is also known as a pioneer in agricultural regulation (1850s) and he was one of the first to organize an American agricultural experiment station, establishing Connecticut's in 1875 and serving as its director (1877–99).