Bailey was born in 1858 and graduated from Michigan Agricultural College in 1882. He founded and was Dean of the Cornell University College of Agriculture and helped create the science of horticulture. He was a superb botanist, teacher, administrator, visionary, writer, poet, philosopher, and environmentalist.
Bailey’ Nature Study movement counteracted the idea that learning must be about remote things and encouraged rural youth to accept the challenges of life around them. Bailey was selected by President Teddy Roosevelt to chair a National Commission on Country Life in 1908, and he authored the report that led to the Cooperative Extension system.
