Kenneth William Neatby

Kenneth William Neatby

Kenneth William Neatby, agricultural scientist (b at Sutton, Eng 30 Mar 1900; d at Ottawa 27 Oct 1958), brother of Hilda NEATBY. Son of an English doctor who immigrated to Saskatchewan in 1906, Neatby joined the Winnipeg Rust Laboratory as a wheat geneticist in 1926, and in 1933 discovered how to forecast rust resistance in new wheat hybrids. He taught at University of Alberta 1935-40 and then spent 6 years as farm liaison agent for a wheat wholesaler. After becoming director of the Department of Agriculture's science service in 1946 he doubled its size and tripled its budget, laying the foundation for a new research branch that was formally created some months after his death. The department's Neatby Building, housing 125 laboratories, commemorates him.