Harcourt Morgan
| Harcourt Morgan | |
|---|---|
Morgan, c. 1942
|
|
| Born |
August 31, 1867 Kerwood, Adelaide Township, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | August 25, 1950 (aged 82) Knoxville, Tennessee, United States |
| Resting place | Greenwood Cemetery Knoxville, Tennessee 36°01′51″N 83°54′51″W / 36.03078°N 83.91426°W |
| Education | Ontario Agricultural College |
| Spouse(s) | Sara Elizabeth Fay |
| Children | Harcourt, Jr., John, Fay, Lucy |
| Parent(s) | John Morgan and Rebecca Truman |
John Harcourt Alexander Morgan (August 31, 1867 – August 25, 1950) was a Canadian-American entomologist, educator, and agricultural expert, who served as president of the University of Tennessee from 1919 until 1934. In 1933, he was appointed to the inaugural board of the Tennessee Valley Authority, with which he remained until 1948, including three years (1938–1941) as chairman. In both capacities, he promoted a philosophy known as "the common mooring," which stressed a harmonious relationship between man and the environment, and consistently worked to introduce more efficient and less destructive farming techniques in the Tennessee Valley.
Morgan was born in 1867 and raised by his parents Rebecca (née Truman) and John Morgan on a farm near Kerwood in Adelaide Township, Ontario. He attended the University of Toronto's Ontario Agricultural College, earning his Bachelor of Science in 1889. He briefly attended Cornell University and conducted research at the Marine Biological Laboratory before accepting a position as professor of entomology at Louisiana State University.
At LSU, Morgan studied two parasitical insects, the cattle tick and the cotton boll weevil, both of which had proven destructive to farmers in the state. Camping out in pastures and cotton fields, Morgan collected invaluable data on the habits of both insects that finally enabled scientists to get their populations under control. But the boll weevil infested cotton crops throughout the South in the early 20th century, causing much destruction and costing countless agricultural jobs. Morgan's role in fighting the cattle tick and boll weevil infestations endeared him to many of the state's farmers and gained the respect of regional agricultural experts.
After getting established in teaching and research, Morgan married Sara Elizabeth Fay. They had four children together: Harcourt Jr.; John, Fay, and Lucy.
In 1904, the University of Tennessee hired Tulane professor Brown Ayres as president. While living in Louisiana, Ayres had become familiar with Morgan's work, and invited him to join U.T.'s faculty as professor of entomology and zoology, and director of the school's agricultural experimental station. In 1913, Morgan was named Dean of the school's College of Agriculture. Morgan shared Ayres' view that the university's extension services were as important as the school's teaching mission, as they believed that many of the South's agricultural problems were due to lack of information among the region's farmers.
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