Luther Burbank - Legacy

Legacy

Burbank's work spurred the passing of the 1930 Plant Patent Act four years after his death. The legislation made it possible to patent new varieties of plants (excluding tuber-propagated plants). In supporting the legislation, Thomas Edison testified before Congress in support of the legislation and said that "This will, I feel sure, give us many Burbanks." The authorities issued Plant Patents #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #18, #41, #65, #66, #235, #266, #267, #269, #290, #291, and #1041 to Burbank posthumously.

In 1986, Burbank was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. The Luther Burbank Home and Gardens, in downtown Santa Rosa, are now designated as a National Historic Landmark. Luther Burbank's Gold Ridge Experiment Farm is listed in the National Register of Historic Places a few miles west of Santa Rosa in the town of Sebastopol, California.

The home that Luther Burbank was born in, as well as his California garden office, were moved by Henry Ford to Dearborn, Michigan, and are part of Greenfield Village.

The following are named after the horticulturist:

• Luther Burbank Elementary School at 2035 N. Mobile in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois
• Luther Burbank Elementary School in Oakland, California.
• Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento, California.
• Luther Burbank High School in San Antonio, Texas.
• Luther Burbank Middle School in Houston, Texas.
• Luther Burbank Elementary School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
• Luther Burbank Middle School in Burbank, California. This is an exclusive filming location in Burbank, California
• The Luther Burbank School District in San Jose, California.
• Santa Rosa's Luther Burbank Rose Parade and Festival.
• Luther Burbank Elementary School in Burbank, Illinois.
• Luther Burbank Elementary School in Santa Rosa, California.
• Luther Burbank Savings Bank, with headquarters in Santa Rosa, California.
• Santa Rosa used to have a performing arts center named after Burbank, but Wells Fargo bought naming rights for $3.2 million in 2006 and renamed it.
• "Burbank" is a house in Stern, a student residential center at Stanford University in Stanford, California.
• The Lancaster Middle School in Lancaster, Massachusetts, was renamed to Luther Burbank Middle School in 2003.
• A middle school in Highland Park, Los Angeles, California, named Burbank Middle School was also named after Burbank.
• Luther Burbank Elementary School in Altadena, California.
• In 1931 the Boys Parental School located on Mercer Island, Washington, changed its name to Luther Burbank School. The school continued to function until 1966. The land on which the school was built was bought by King County and converted into Luther Burbank Park.
• Burbank Elementary School in Roxana, Illinois, was named after Burbank. It was built in 1936, with an addition in 1966. Due to declining enrollment, the school was closed in 1983 and sold to a local chiropractor. It was transferred to the village and demolished in December 2008.
• Luther Burbank Elementary School in Long Beach, California. Built and put into use before 1945 and still in operation in 2010.
• Luther Burbank Elementary School in Logan Heights, San Diego, California.
• The census-designated place of Burbank, Washington.

Plant species named after Luther Burbank

• Canna 'Burbank'
• Chrysanthemum burbankii Makino (Asteraceae)
• Myrica × burbankii A.Chev. (Myricaceae)
• Solanum burbankii Bitter (Solanaceae)

The standard author abbreviation Burbank is used to indicate this individual as the author when citing a botanical name.