Shmuel Stoller (; August 15, 1898 – March 6, 1977) was an Israeli

agronomist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.) is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the Uni ...

and an early member of the

Zionist movement Zionism is an ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the Jewish people, pursued through the colonization of Palestine, a region roughly co ...

Biography

Stoller was born in 1898 in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. In 1915, he graduated from high school and began to study history and linguistics at

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

. In February 1917, he was drafted into the ranks of the army of the Russian Empire, but he deserted after the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

and moved with his family to the

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

. Stoller studied at

Simferopol Simferopol ( ), also known as Aqmescit, is the second-largest city on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, but controlled by Russia. It is considered the cap ...

Agriculture and Natural Sciences. In 1920 he married Yonah. Yonah and Shmuel Stoller

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

Mandate Palestine The Mandate for Palestine was a League of Nations mandate for British administration of the territories of Palestine and Transjordanwhich had been part of the Ottoman Empire for four centuriesfollowing the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in Wo ...

shortly thereafter and joined the

Gdud HaAvoda The Labour Battalion or Gdud HaAvoda () was a Labor Zionism, Labor Zionist work group in Mandatory Palestine. History Officially known as the Yosef Trumpeldor Labor and Defense Battalion (), Gdud HaAvoda was established on 8 August 1920 for the ...

(''The Work Battalion'') as part of a group headed by

Yitzhak Sadeh Yitzhak Sadeh (; born Izaak Landoberg, August 10, 1890 – August 20, 1952), was the commander of the Palmach and one of the founders of the Israel Defense Forces at the time of the establishment of the State of Israel. Biography Sadeh was bo ...

. Stoller became involved in agriculture and agricultural research, and in 1938, he headed a group concentrating on the Jordan Valley, and was responsible for developing methods of irrigation, irrigated agriculture and plantations. In particular, Stoller was responsible for the importation and development of conditions suitable for new varieties of bananas, dates and vines. Stoller was one of the founders of

Kvutzat Kinneret Kvutzat Kinneret (), also known as Kibbutz Kinneret, is a kibbutz in northern Israel. The settlement group ('' kvutza'') was established in 1913, and moved from the Kinneret training farm to the permanent location in 1929. Located to the southwest ...

. Stoller also devoted himself to education, and in 1946 he was founder and director of the Bet Yerah Agricultural School.

Awards and honours

* In 1965, he was awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...

for his work in agriculture.

Family

Shmuel and Jonah Stoller had a large family - they had three sons: Noach, Uri and Menachem; five daughters: Netta, Sarah, Dinah, Batya and Alik; and twenty-four grandchildren. Both are buried in the Kinneret Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stoller, Shmuel 1898 births 1977 deaths Jews from Mandatory Palestine Jewish Russian scientists Jewish scientists Israel Prize in agriculture recipients Soviet emigrants to Mandatory Palestine 20th-century Israeli agronomists Burials at Kinneret Cemetery

Biography

Awards and honours

Family

See also

References