David Burpee

Who was David Burpee?

David Burpee was born in Pennsylvania and attended Cornell University until his father, W. Atlee Burpee, died in 1915. Burpee dropped out and took over the family business selling seeds. He immediately began shifting the firm's focus from vegetables to flowers. In 1917 the W. A.. Burpee Company was incorporated with Burpee as president. Sales were $900,000 that year, equal to $16,127,532 today.

Burpee initiated a War Gardens campaign during World War I when overseas seed supplies were interrupted and there were food shortages. These programs were aimed at city folk, teaching them how to grow food during shortages by buying Burpee seeds. During the 1930s the company started a cross-breeding program to produce healthier and more disease-resistant hybrids. This period also saw the development of Golden Gleam, a double nasturtium, the Big Boy tomato, the Ambrosia cantaloupe, and also new varieties of petunias and marigolds.

During the 1940s Burpee moved on to genetic engineering, altering flower chromosomes using the chemical colchicine extracted from crocus plants. This research led to new varieties of snapdragons and zinnia. World War II meant more shortages and another opportunity to sell seeds in the Victory Gardens campaign.