John Bennet Lawes found himself fatherless at the age of 8, and the responsibility of the 250-acre family farm was left in the hands of just himself and his mother. The two figured it out and even made enough to send John off to college. But at the age of 20, John dropped out of school and came back to the family farm.
Upon his return, John discovered the farm was now in more serious debt. John decided there was no choice but to try something different. Over the next eight years, John experimented with both organic and inorganic fertilizers. Keep in mind, at the time, farmers were still dependent on the manure of their animals for natural fertilizer. John made it his goal to free the family farm from this need.
Around 1837, John began to experiment on the effects of various manures on plants growing in pots, and a year or two later, the experiments were extended to crops in the field. His experiments with ground-up animal bones proved to be an excellent fertilizer, and he subsequently discovered that sulfuric acid, a cheap byproduct of many industrial applications, could perform the same function as grinding at much less expense. From there, his next innovation was to substitute rock phosphate for the animal bone, which had similar effects to manure.
In 1842, John patented a process to treat phosphate rock with sulfuric acid, creating superphosphate, which freed farmers from reliance on animal manure and significantly boosted crop yields. This led to the establishment of the first fertilizer factory in 1842, marking the start of the artificial fertilizer industry. In 1843, he founded the Rothamsted Experimental Station, the world’s oldest agricultural research facility, where he collaborated with chemist Joseph Henry Gilbert for over 50 years.
Rothamsted Experimental Station, now called Rothamsted Research, is still administering the longest-running experiment of modern science with its Park Grass Study, which began in 1856 and has been continuously monitored. The experiment was initially designed to answer agricultural questions but has since proved an invaluable resource for studying natural selection and biodiversity. From what I understand, in the spring the field is a colorful tapestry of flowers and grasses, some plots still having the wide range of plants that most meadows probably contained hundreds of years ago. Their experiments on crop nutrition and animal feeding have produced over +130 research papers, shaping modern agricultural science.
John Lawes also founded the Lawes Chemical Company Ltd., which manufactured other agricultural chemicals in addition to superphosphates. Lawes’s fertilizer business would prosper, and he maintained his interest in the business for about 30 years before selling it for many millions. Lawes was knighted in 1882, elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1854, and awarded a Royal Medal in 1867 alongside Gilbert. In 1889, he created the Lawes Agricultural Trust to ensure the continuation of Rothamsted’s work. John Lawes passed away in late August 1900, leaving behind a legacy of agricultural innovation. Crazy to think about what one man was able to accomplish for all of agriculture. John Lawes is credited with being the founder of the artificial fertilizer industry and forever changed the way we grow our crops. (Source: whatwhenandhow, wiki, harpendhistory)
