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"W" is for Wannamaker, John Edward [1851-1935]

South Carolina From A to Z
SC Public Radio

"W" is for Wannamaker, John Edward [1851-1935]. Agriculturalist. Civic Leader. Educated at home by private tutors, Wannamaker graduated from Wofford in 1872. After college, he assumed management of his father's farming interests. Keenly interested in agricultural improvement, he applied his considerable resources to agrarian research and innovation. In the 1930s he experimented with soybeans, seeking to develop a seed stock suitable to South Carolina soils and climate. A leading advocate of agricultural education, he lobbied for the establishment of an agricultural college and was appointed one of the original life trustees of Clemson College—eventually he became chairman of the board. During World War I he headed several bond drives to finance the war effort. John Edward Wannamaker was active in community affairs and served the Methodist church in a variety of capacities.

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Dr. Walter Edgar has two programs on South Carolina Public Radio: Walter Edgar's Journal, and South Carolina from A to Z. Dr. Edgar received his B.A. degree from Davidson College in 1965 and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1969. After two years in the army (including a tour of duty in Vietnam), he returned to USC as a post-doctoral fellow of the National Archives, assigned to the Papers of Henry Laurens.