1849-1926

American plant breeder known as the "Wizard of Santa Rosa." Burbank had experimental gardens in Santa Rosa and Sebastopol, California. He used artificial selection and hybridization on a massive scale to produce new variations of fruits, vegetables, and flowers, including the Shasta daisy and the spineless cactus. Evolutionary scientists such as Hugo DeVries, David Starr Jordan, and Vernon Kellogg often visited his gardens to collect data that would help them better understand evolution.