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George C. Ball, Jr.
Although
he has not made any great contributions to horticulture as a seedsman or plant breeder
as the other people on this site,
Mr. Ball is included here to document the most recent history
of the W. Atlee Burpee & Company. George
C. Ball, Jr. was born near Chicago in 1951. He is the son of
G. Carl Ball, who was
one of four brothers that took over the Ball Horticultural Company in 1949 when
their father passed away. George
began his career working for the family company in Illinois
and in Costa Rica during the summers while he was in school. In 1971, after
ceasing studies at Bard College, he joined Ball Seed as an assistant grower. Rising through the
ranks of the family business, he was appointed in 1984, president of a subsidiary
company, Pan American Seed. In 1989 he became a director
of Geo J. Ball, Inc., an entity spun off of Ball Horticultural Company. W. Atlee Burpee & Company
was acquired1,
for an undisclosed amount in 1991. In 1993, Mr. Ball became the president of the Burpee Holding Company (the parent company
of W. Atlee Burpee & Company2). This
was spun off of Ball Holding Company, in 2000.
Burpee
continues as a privately owned company and remains a leader in the home
gardening industry.
Sources:
-
Who Owns What
-
Ball
Horticultural Company Web Site
-
Ball
Horticultural Company Capsule - Hoover's Online UK
-
W. Atlee Burpee & Co. Capsule - Hoover's Online UK
-
"Conversation
with George Ball, Jr." - May 24, 1996 - Interesting insight into
position on organics, heirlooms and open-pollinated seeds.
-
Details of Burpee Acquisition of Heronswood
- July 2000
-
Gene Debate Sprouting Even Before the Seeds
- February 4, 2000
-
Burpee
purchases Garden.com's brand assets - Jan 18, 2001
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The Seattle Times
- Burpeewood? Heronsburp? - March 4, 2001
-
Burpee files for bankruptcy protection
- October 9, 2001
-
Burpee
Holding Co. Files for Chapter 11 - November 1, 2001
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EDGAR
Online People Search - Seminis, Inc.
-
Burpee Uproots
Famed Heronswood Nursery - June 1, 2006
-
Heronswood
Voice - George Ball, Jr.'s Blog
1.
Information available is conflicting. Some list W. Atlee Burpee
& Co. as being purchased by George Ball, Jr. and some name Geo. J.
Ball, Inc.
2. George Ball, Jr. was spun off from Ball Horticultural and became
a separate company. |
