McFadden, E. S. (Edgar Sharp), 1891-1956

• McFadden, Edgar Sharp, 1891-1956

Edgar Sharp McFadden was born on February 3, 1891, in Day County, South Dakota, to James Edgar and Beatrice (Stocking) McFadden. His father had arrived in South Dakota in 1882 to homestead and constructed a combined granary and dwelling on the property. In 1903, James McFadden was seriously injured by a bull, leaving thirteen-year-old Edgar responsible for much of the spring planting in 1904. That year he planted a small experimental plot using seed selected from several beardless wheat plants he had noticed the previous season. Although the crop was later destroyed by black stem rust, the experience began his long interest in developing improved wheat varieties.

During the winter of 1908–1909 the McFadden family relocated to the West Pecos region of Texas, where Edgar worked with his father in the cattle ranching business. In the following years he traveled seasonally along wheat harvesting routes from Texas northward through South Dakota and into the Red River Valley of North Dakota and Minnesota. During this work he observed patterns in the spread of wheat rust, noting that infections appeared first in southern regions and progressed northward during the growing season.

In 1911 McFadden enrolled in courses in the School of Agriculture at South Dakota State College and completed the program in 1914. He entered the college as a freshman that fall and worked as an assistant in the agronomy laboratory and in experimental plots operated by the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station. While a student he began experiments aimed at transferring rust resistance from Yaroslav emmer wheat to the Marquis wheat variety. McFadden received a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture from South Dakota State College on March 1, 1918.

After graduating, McFadden worked for the United States Department of Agriculture as a field assistant at the Agricultural Experiment Station in Highmore, South Dakota, where he continued research on rust-resistant wheat. During World War I he served in the United States Army from May 25, 1918, to February 25, 1919. Following his military service he returned to the Highmore station and later resumed work on his family’s farm near Webster, South Dakota, where he continued wheat breeding experiments while farming from 1920 to 1929. Despite crop losses caused by drought, hail, and rust in successive years, he continued his research and developed the rust-resistant wheat varieties Hope and H44.

In 1929 McFadden returned to federal service as an Associate Agronomist with the United States Department of Agriculture, stationed in Redfield, South Dakota, and later working at University Farm in St. Paul, Minnesota. In 1935 he accepted a joint position with the USDA and the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. There he continued research on wheat and other small grains, including oats, barley, and flax.

McFadden became widely known for developing Hope wheat, which served as the parent line for numerous disease-resistant wheat varieties used in breeding programs. During his career he received several honors, including the Reader’s Digest award for meritorious contributions to public welfare (1946), the American Agricultural Editors’ Award for service to agriculture (1947), the USDA Distinguished Service Award (1949), and an honorary Doctor of Science degree from South Dakota State College in 1950. In 1955 he received the John Scott Legacy Medal and Premium. A granite memorial to McFadden was later erected in Webster, South Dakota, in 1966.

In 1918 McFadden married Mabel Blakeslee, and the couple had three children: Carol, Phyllis, and James. Edgar S. McFadden died on January 5, 1956, at his home in College Station, Texas.

Field of Activity: Wheat--Breeding
Occupation: Plant breeders