A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature/Young, Arthur
Young, Arthur (1741-1820).—Writer on agriculture, was b. in London, the s. of a Suffolk clergyman. In his early years he farmed, making many experiments, which though they did not bring him financial success, gave him knowledge and experience, afterwards turned to useful account. Various publications had made his name known, and in 1777 he became agent to Lord Kingsborough on his Irish estates. In 1780 he pub. his Tour in Ireland, and four years later started the Annals of Agriculture, 47 vols. of which appeared. His famous tours in France were made 1787-90, the results of his observations being pub. in Travels in France (1792). He was in 1793 appointed sec. to the newly founded Board of Agriculture, and pub. many additional works on the subject. He is justly regarded as the father of modern agriculture, in which, as in all subjects affecting the public welfare, he maintained an active interest until his death. In his later years he was blind.