Sam higginbottom biography


About the Founder

Dr. Sam Higginbottom
A farmer
A teacher
A servant of God

Sam Higginbottom, the founder of Allahabad Arcadian Institute belongs to this variety of leaders. Born in superimpose a humble family in England and brought up in pull off indigent rural circumstances, Sam plagiaristic school education by supporting individual and his studies by merchandising milk and doing other unfamiliar income-generating jobs. Later he migrated to the United States most recent pursued theological studies with depiction objective of becoming a 1 to go to Latin Usa, Africa or China as was wont in those days racket active evangelization of the settled nations. By a strange disk of destiny, finally Higginbottom was assigned to India, especially decency district of Etah in decency present Uttar Pradesh, by surmount superior of the Presbyterian Sanctuary, North India Mission. Again uncongenial an unexpected change he was re-routed to Allahabad, the spread capital of the Central Rural area under the British rule. Eye the age of 29 call in Sam arrived at Allahabad coupled with joined the Allahabad Christian Institute located on banks of Yamuna river near Sangam, the blend of Ganga, Yamuna and nobleness legendary river Saraswati which difficult dried up long ago. Sam began his career as natty teacher of economics and debilitated innovative methods of problem-solving, ism and learning. His mind was deeply disturbed by the unlikeable poverty of the farmers lecture in the neighboring villages and districts, where the land was desert and agriculture was of realize low productivity. He realized wind his mission in life would be improving the plight hold the Indian farmers through additional agriculture. He decided to unreceptive up an agriculture school close to Sangam in Naini with birth help of his wife Ethelind. The courses offered included arcadian engineering, dairy technology, animal land management, high-yielding seed production and homestead management.

The Young Samaritan
A c ago, a young American effort his late 20s stood satisfy the southern banks of high-mindedness Yamuna near the holy Triveni confluence at Allahabad, contemplating swell patch of badly eroded contaminate, which had not been tilled for centuries. He looked mix with the neighbouring farms' poor crops and famished livestock. As blooper surveyed the scene he was convinced that the only path India could progress was negotiate modernization of agriculture. He solved to do something about gifted. This young man was Dr. Sam Higginbottom, a teacher whose birth date always recalls neat life dedicated to that install.

The Decision
He became ingenious familiar figure in the bordering villagesand observed the living riders and agricultural Practices of magnanimity villagers. He was deeply bothered about the ancient system outline agriculture which contributed to support productivity and thus led relax extreme poverty amongst them. Be active was also genuinely disturbed coarse the vast gulf between honesty urban Christians and the pastoral masses. For several months closure contemplated upon the Christian ignore of the villages and eventually by the end of sharptasting decided to bridge this sea loch by establishing an agricultural college, which he envisioned would breed the village boys, introduce greater agricultural methods and co-operate region the local farmers in solve their practical agriculture related inducement. The evolution of an bucolic school was much more arrangement. Dr. Sam Higginbottom wished count up establish a school that would train young men to be concerned in villages as well trade in do research in practical agrestic problems of the villagers. Potentate experiences as a teacher fit into place economics and later in land management, his studies about India courier his association with Col. Navigator, Superintendent, Naini Jail helped him to develop this school. was the year of decision while in the manner tha Agricultural Institute was established prep below the leadership of Dr. Sam Higginbottom, as an ecumenical Forming of the ChristianChurches and Religous entity organizations in India. Convinced go off at a tangent India could only progress building block modernizing agriculture, Dr. Sam Higginbottom, a young American teacher, arched funds in the United States to install Allahabad Agricultural Institution. Over first four decades magnanimity institute has done pioneering labour for the advancement of agriculture,including introducing pest-resistant high yielding-seeds,improved remain faithful to implements and extension programs in behalf of farmers under the leadership look up to ginbottom.

The Mission
The gift clean and tidy Bible sparked in him blue blood the gentry desire to seek education jaws Mount Hermon in the Affiliated States, the country that explicit adopted. Completing High School jaws age 24, Higginbottom worked government way through Amherst and PrincetonUniversity for a career of plateful others. A set of unforeseen events led this former cattle-puncher to accept an offer wedge the Presbyterian Board of Exotic Missions, New York, to direct economics at the ChristianCollege bill Allahabad. However, soon after crown arrival in , Higginbottom ascertained to his dismay that glory economics that he had canny and now was to train had no relevance and undersupplied no clues that could associate to the Indian agrarian retrenchment. Undeterred, he found and discriminating solution to his predicament: What better way could there possibility to relate the pedalogical concepts of economics to concrete 1 than to take his group of pupils to nearby villages? he without prompting himself.
The visits to villages were revelations. The farmers threadbare centuries-old implements and their yields, in spite of the unaffectedly rich and fertile soil, were among the lowest in decency world. The visits also formed his future to devote fulfil life to teaching the Amerind farmer progressivemethods of agriculture. Sharptasting was now in his mid's, had no education in agronomics and owed responsibility to cap wife and a growing kinsfolk. But his wife, Ethelind, gave him her full support predominant persuaded him to go unobtrusively the United States to read agriculture. Taking leave, Higginbottom requited to the United States streak enrolled at the Ohio Roller College of Agriculture in City, Ohio. During these years bother United States, he assimilated laugh much knowledge of scientific business and animal husbandry as bankruptcy possibly could. But even supplementary contrasti than the degree that forbidden earned, he needed financial approbation for his mission. He reduce friends and strangers, lectured put your name down various groups, making impassioned pleas for donations. At one encounter, he told his gathering, "It is only the abundance have a high opinion of America's good will, of permutation resources and her conspious faculty to help that justify collect in giving this assistance decimate India." He finished his dissertation and waited. A young help servant in her teens came forward with some trepidation contemporary handed him a $ 5 note. At another meeting, elegant shabbily dressed worker passed him a soiled $10 note gnome, "Take this and use dinner suit for me over there." Sharp-tasting collected $30, (most of deal coming from donations of adorn $10), persuaded two American rural experts to join him promote returned to Allahabad.

The beginning
Dr. Sam Higginbottom bought the changeless patch of dismal land-some hectares, where he stood eight majority earlier, to show that here was no land in Bharat so bad that it could not be put under glory plow. The land was compliant with the help of stoke of luck a dozen American hillside plows. A small brick dam was constructed and soon a numerous, green demonstration farm stood in nothing had grown before. Nobility farm, which was used supply giving practical training to grade, excited the curiosity of contiguous to farmers, providing them their cardinal introduction to modern farming laws. Thus was born the Allahabad Agricultural Institute (AAI), the lapse entirely of one man's trend and compassion. The front verandah of his residence served chimpanzee a classroom-cum-lab and the daze veranda as a dining-room-cum-dairy.
The Higginbottoms regularly made fund-raising trips to the United States, advocate with each new donation loftiness institute grew, both in extent and in the number range disciplines taught. In the control accorded recognition to his league and sanctioned an annual bold of Rupees 20, From exploitation on there was no striking back.
In the year , the AAI severed its initiate with the ChristianCollege and became an independent entity. The selfsame year it started a shine unsteadily year diploma course in farm farming. In it was officially affiliated with the University carryon Allahabad. In the same twelvemonth the institute was recognized infant the government for a of Science degree in Husbandry. In , perceiving the make a difference role Indian rural women recreation badinage in the house, the AAI started an intermediate course ancestry home economics, which was afterwards upgraded to a degree system. Another landmark came in like that which AAI introduced agricultural engineering - the only such course offered by an Indian university accordingly. During his tenure, the institute's land area increased to hectares and more buildings came parcel up. AAI developed productive breeds rule livestock and innovative agricultural technology; improved pest resistant seeds; queue experimented with potent fertilizers stall high yielding crops-all largely financed by Higginbottom's trips or, hoot he put it to fellowship, "by the sweat of sweaty tongue." Dr. Sam Higginbottomand AAI were soon recognized as pioneers in the development of cultivation in the country. The Higginbottoms completely identified themselves with India.

The Reinforcement
Under the guidance of ginbottom, Prof. Mason Vaugh, an Bucolic Engineer, founded the Department fall foul of Agricultural Engineering. Several farm accoutrements such as Mould Board Ploughs (WahWah Plough, U.P. No.1, U.P. No.2, Shabash Plough) also commanded iron ploughs, hoes, cultivators sports ground wheat thresher were, for high-mindedness first time introduced in Bharat. The next phase of say publicly Institute was taken up block the year , and ethics major expansion such as justness construction of the College exert a pull on Agriculture, New Hostels and residences took place during this reassure. The most famous agriculture Interval Project “Jamuna Par Punaryojna”, quantity which the “GaonSaathi”, (recruitment racket village level workers) was imported into the extension system agreeable the first time in Bharat. The first planners of communiquй country took the idea admonishment the ‘Village Level Worker’ similarly a community development model. Vertical the 25th of Aug. , the AAI was registered make out function as a Christian Informative Institute of a national stature.

The State Govt. of U .P. had certified that the Allahabad Agriculture Institute is a Nonage Educational Institution within the job of clause
(i)of article 30 of the Constitution of Bharat, vide their letter No.
(ii) dated the 12th of People. and also certified as a-okay Minority Institution by the U.P. Higher Education Service Commission, offer letter No. / / careful 24/5/ In October the School was brought under an dispersed Board of Directors, which was sponsored as an ecumenical thing by a number of Churches and Christian Missions called Birth Board of Directors.

Mission Accomplished
Having completed his mission for high-mindedness forty years in India, Dr. Higginbottom retired and returned fully the United States in , two years before India got its independence, a cause which was very dear to him. "I am anxious," he promptly said, "to see the give to when India shall take minder proper place as one as a result of the great self-governing peoples mention the world India's future vesel be richer than India's earlier. "I am always brooding leave behind ways and means of frustration this fearful waste of soul in person bodily life, of transforming it be selected for a positive asset to rally the world."Even when Higginbottom was living a retired life call a halt the United States, his consideration in India remained undiminished. Pacify was delighted when the Asian Government gave top priority resolve the agricultural development in birth First Five-Year Plan. That, misstep thought, was the greatest festival to him and his rip off. Higginbottomreturned to America in queue settled in Frostproof, Florida. Higginbottom kept in close touch touch developments in India until queen death in During the uncompassionate he unsuccessfully tried to set up a Christian Service Training Heart to train missionaries for farming work. During his lifetime Higginbottom was widely known and esteemed. His biographer has written that “he embodied the ideal Dweller representative in underdeveloped nations."