Background

Jacob Goodale Lipman was born on November 18, 1874 of Russian-Jewish ancestry in Friedrichstadt, Russia (later Latvia), the oldest son and second of eight children of Michael Gregory and Ida (Birkhahn) Lipman. His father was a dealer in camel's wool and sheepskins. One of Jacob's brothers, Charles Bernard, later became a plant physiologist and served for many years as dean of the graduate division of the University of California at Berkeley. In 1888 the family came to the United States, settling in 1891 in the Baron de Hirsch Colony near Woodbine, New Jersey.

Education

Lipman was educated by private tutors in Moscow and at the classical Gymnasium at Orenburg, Jacob early showed superior scholastic ability. He spend a year at the Baron de Hirsch Agricultural School, New Jersey and entered Rutgers College to study agricultural science in 1894. He graduated with honors in 1898. He later attended Cornell University to study advanced chemistry and bacteriology and received his Master of Arts there in 1900 and Doctor of Medicine in 1903. Lipman received honorary degrees from Rutgers (1923) and the Catholic University of Santiago, Chile (1930).

Career

In 1898 Lipman joined the staff of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, then headed by Edward B. Voorhees, as an assistant chemist in the fertilizer inspection laboratory. In 1901 he was asked to organize a new department of soil chemistry and bacteriology at Experiment Station, and in 1902 he added teaching duties at Rutgers College.

Lipman's rise as an educator at Rutgers was swift: from instructor in agricultural chemistry in 1902 to professor of agriculture in 1913. Two years later he became the first dean of the New Jersey State College of Agriculture at Rutgers, which under his guidance grew rapidly in influence and prestige. Graduates spread the gospel of better agriculture far beyond the confines of the state, and the Agricultural Extension Service, established in 1913, served from the first as an effective liaison between laboratory and farm. Lipman also built a strong graduate school. Commercial houses, spurred by his enthusiasm, furnished generous grants, and these, together with his reputation as a soil scientist, attracted students from all over the world. Research was always kept at a high level, with emphasis on the fundamental as opposed to the vocational. Lipman's keen personal interest in his students and his dynamic leadership inspired many men who later became leaders in soil science, and his willingness to give his students free rein and plenty of time led to far-reaching results, perhaps the most spectacular of which was the discovery of streptomycin, after almost thirty years of research, by Dr. Selman A. Waksman, one-time student and later colleague of Lipman's.

Besides his teaching duties, Lipman was appointed in 1911 director of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. Its growth and accomplishments during the twenty-eight years of his directorship speak eloquently for his administrative skill and gift for human relations. His ability to envisage the need for new departments and to recognize and attract capable leadership and his canniness in extracting funds from the legislature, particularly for new buildings and equipment, all contributed to its steady growth. From administration at home Lipman branched out in the early 1920's into world relationships, becoming a delegate to the general assembly of the International Institute of Agriculture at Rome in 1922, 1924, and 1926, the third International Conference of Soil Sciences at Prague in 1922 and the fourth at Rome in 1924, the first International Nitrogen Conference at Biarritz in 1926, and the World Dairy Congress, London, 1928.

As president of the International Society of Soil Science, he took the leadership in planning the first International Congress of Soil Science, held in Washington, D. C. , in 1927, and in addition raised funds to take the foreign delegates on a thirty-day soils study tour through the United States and Canada. He was the author of Bacteria in Relation to Country Life (1908) and Laboratory Guide of Soil Bacteriology (1911), as well as over a hundred published technical papers on soil bacteriology and agronomy. He was also an editor of the periodical Soil Science from 1916 to 1939.

He died of a heart ailment in New Brunswick, New Jersey, following an illness brought on by overwork, and was buried at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, Westchester County, New York.

Achievements

• Lipman was internationally known expert on soil science. He laid the foundation for his most important scientific research achievements, particularly in the virgin field of soil microbiology--among them fundamental studies in nitrification, denitrification, chemistry of decay, physiology of nitrogen fixation, availability of organic soil nitrogen, ammonification, chemical and bacterial effect of liming, and utilization of nitrogen in fertilizer materials. His most valuable contribution to scientific literature was "Soil Science", a monthly journal which he founded in 1916 and which came to be recognized as the outstanding journal of its kind in the world.

Works

More photos

• book

  • BACTERIA in RELATION to COUNTRY LIFE

    (The deepening current of human existence now forces us to...)

  • Laboratory Guide in Soil Bacteriology (Classic Reprint)

    (Excerpt from Laboratory Guide in Soil Bacteriology Flask...)

  • Pot Experiments On The Availability Of Nitrogen And Organic Compounds, Volumes 275-287...

    ( This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923....)

  • Nitrogen Utilization In Field And Cylinder Experiments, Volumes 260-274...

    (This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)

  • Miscellaneous Vegetation Experiments, Volumes 250-259...

    ( This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923....)

  • The Availability Of Nitrogenous Materials As Measured By Ammonification...

    ( This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923....)

  • Report Of The Director, Volumes 260-274

    (This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)

  • Factors Relating To The Availability Of Nitrogenous Plant-foods, Volumes 250-259...

    ( This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923....)

  • The Value Of Nitrate Of Soda In Crop Production, Volumes 314-335...

    (This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)

  • Field Experiments On The Availability Of Nitrogenous Fertilizers, Volumes 260-274...

    (This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)

Personality

Lipman had a photographic memory for storing knowledge combined with a powerful imagination and great drive in analyzing a problem. In addition he possessed a shrewd business ability, deep religious convictions, a smooth, almost poetic gift of words, and a lively sense of humor, his endless supply of stories easing many an overheated debate. He was short in stature, always immaculately dressed, with neatly trimmed mustache, eyes twinkling behind thick-lensed glasses, never too busy to lay aside his work and talk with the humblest person.

Connections

In 1902 Lipman married Cecelia Rosenthal of New York City, who, together with their sons, Leonard Herbert, Edward Voorhees, and Daniel Hilgard, made the director's home on the College Farm grounds a spacious center of hospitality alike for faculty member, student, townsman, farmer, legislator, and distinguished foreign visitor.

Father:

Michael Gregory Lipman

Mother:

Ida (Birkhahn) Lipman

Spouse:

Cecelia Rosenthal

Brother:

Charles Bernard

physiologist, educator

Son:

Leonard Herbert Lipman

Son:

Edward Voorhees Lipman

Son:

Daniel Hilgard Lipman

References

• Jacob G. Lipman: Agricultural Scientist and Humanitarian