Campbell, John (John Kennedy), 1923-2009

John S. Campbell was born in London, England, on April 4, 1923. He attended Reading and Cambridge universities and completed graduate studies at Trinidad's Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture in the West Indies and at Harvard University. He died on September 12, 2000.

From the description of John S. Campbell papers, 1936-2000 [manuscript] (North Carolina State University). WorldCat record id: 539139749

John S. Campbell was born in London, England, on April 4, 1923. He attended Reading and Cambridge Universities and completed graduate studies at Trinidad's Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture in the West Indies and at Harvard University. He died on September 12, 2000.

Campbell's work carried him around the world. After serving in the British Royal Navy,1943-1946, he worked as an agricultural officer in the Department of Agriculture in Nigeria, 1948-1950. He then crossed the Atlantic to become senior lecturer at the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture in Trinidad in 1950, where he designed and supervised an agronomic research unit until 1961. Before leaving Trinidad, Campbell served as a land development officer at Tate and Lyle Sugar Corporation, 1961-1963, where he arranged for the cultivation of 5,000 acres of sugar cane and developed alternative commercial food crops to sugar cane. Campbell moved to Wilson, North Carolina, in 1963 to serve as vice president of the Imperial Tobacco Company. During his tenure at the company, Campbell supervised research and worked to expand the selection of tobacco varieties and improve cultivation methods. He retired in 1980 but continued his research, serving as a consultant to the United Nations and the World Bank on the international tobacco market.

Campbell also worked as an educator and volunteer in various locations. He served as an adjunct professor of crop science at NC State, 1974-1980. He taught courses on the production of tropical food crops. His volunteer activities included serving as chairman of the Tobacco Quality Committee of the Tobacco Association, 1967-1989; Director of the North Carolina Tobacco Foundation, 1975-1980, 1982-1986, 1987-1991; and as chairman or member of numerous organizations in Wilson. Campbell also published widely, with more than sixty articles to his credit. His reports, however, were not limited to professional journals, as he frequently contributed to the popular press, radio, and television.

From the guide to the John S. Campbell Papers, 1936 - 2000, (Special Collections Research Center)