Hugh Hammond Bennett, a soil chemist from North Carolina, is inducted as the founder of the Soil Conservation Society of America. He is credited with focusing worldwide attention on the ravages of erosion and its effect on food production at a critical time in human history.

Born on a farm in North Carolina, Bennett graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1903 and began his lifelong career as a soil chemist with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Bennett’s pioneering research revealed that enormous amounts of topsoil were being washed away. His work emphasized that erosion was more than a farm-by-farm problem which led to the establishment of Soil Conservation Districts.

In 1928 he became the first director of the Soil Erosion Service and Chief of the Soil Conservation Service in 1935. Bennett received dozens of prestigious honors including the Distinguished Service Medal in 1947 for achievements in soil and water conservation.