Jethro Tull (agriculturist) - Early Life

Early Life

Tull was born in Basildon, Berkshire, to Jethro Tull, Sr. and his wife Dorothy, née Buckeridge or Buckridge. He was baptised there on 30 March 1674. He grew up in Bradfield, Berkshire and matriculated at St John's College, Oxford at the age of 17, but appears not to have taken a degree. He was later educated at Gray's Inn.

He married Susanna Smith of Burton Dassett, Warwickshire. They settled on his father's farm at Howberry, near Crowmarsh Gifford, where they had a son and two daughters.

Tull became ill with a pulmonary disorder. He travelled Europe in search of a cure. In his travels, he found himself seeking more knowledge of agriculture. Influenced by the early Age of Enlightenment, he is considered to be one of the early proponents of a scientific (and especially empirical) approach to agriculture. He helped transform agricultural practices by inventing or improving numerous implements.

Read more about this topic:  Jethro Tull (agriculturist)

Famous quotes containing the words early and/or life:

    An early dew woos the half-opened flowers
    —Unknown. The Thousand and One Nights.

    AWP. Anthology of World Poetry, An. Mark Van Doren, ed. (Rev. and enl. Ed., 1936)

    His speech is a burning fire;
    With his lips he travaileth;
    In his heart is a blind desire,
    In his eyes foreknowledge of death:
    He weaves, and is clothed with derision;
    Sows, and he shall not reap;
    His life is a watch or a vision
    Between a sleep and a sleep.
    —A.C. (Algernon Charles)