William Eldon Splinter was born in North Platte, Nebraska, on November 24, 1925. He received a bachelor of science degree in agricultural engineering from the University of Nebraska in 1950 and master of science and doctoral degrees from Michigan State University in 1951 and 1955 respectively.
In 1954 Splinter joined the faculty of the Department of Agricultural Engineering at North Carolina State College (later University). He helped develop a mechanical tobacco harvester and mechanical tobacco transplanter, as well as electrostatic dusting and spraying systems. In 1968 he returned to the University of Nebraska to become chair of the Agricultural Engineering Department, a position he served in until 1987.
Splinter has numerous patents, awards, and publications to his credit. He was president of American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE) in 1978 -1979, and he received the John Deere Gold Medal in 1995. As of 2007, he is the current director of the Lester F. Larson Tractor Test and Power Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska.
From the guide to the William E. Splinter Papers, 1951 - 1968, (Special Collections Research Center)
