Lubin, David

Lubin, David (l`bĭn), 1849–1919, American agriculturist, b. Poland. After prospering as a merchant in California, he devoted himself to helping farmers with their problems. Through his efforts the California Fruit Growers Association, a cooperative marketing group, was established. His plan to found a worldwide agricultural institute found favor in Italy, and in 1905 the International Institute of Agriculture was founded in Rome, with 46 nations participating. Lubin was the U.S. representative until his death. In 1945 the institute's activities were absorbed by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

---

Lubin, David (1849–1919) agriculturalist; born in present-day Klodowa, Poland. His family settled in New York City in 1855. At age 16 he drifted west to San Francisco. In 1874 he opened a successful dry goods store with his half-brother in Sacramento, Calif. In 1884, on a visit to Palestine, he had a vision that his life should serve justice as did the prophet Israel's. Returning to Sacramento, he found a calling in agriculture. He fought the railroads over practices that benefited the middlemen over the growers. He proposed that government subsidize the cost of shipping produce overseas and was called a "crank." In 1896 at the International Agricultural Congress in Budapest, he realized that justice for the American farmer depended on justice for all farmers. For 12 years he sought a sovereign state to support an International Institute of Agriculture; in 1910 Italy agreed and the Institute's treaty was ratified by 46 nations. He was the United States delegate to the Institute until his death.