Lawrence, Thomas (1927-94)

A respected agrologist and one of Canada’s foremost forage variety breeders, Thomas Lawrence was born at Colonsay in 1927. He earned two degrees at the University of Saskatchewan and his PhD at the University of Alberta in 1955. For thirty-four years, Lawrence worked at the Agriculture Canada Research Station in Swift Current, first as a grass breeder, then as principal research scientist, and finally as head of the forage production and utilization section. His work on grass cultivars has had an enormous impact on western Canada’s perennial forage use. For his distinguished contributions to agronomy, Lawrence was made a Fellow of the Agricultural Institute of Canada and a Member of the Order of Canada in 1991. He died on December 8, 1994.

Canadian Plains Research Center