Thomas Nelson Burford (August 29, 1935 – March 29, 2020) was an American pomologist, orchardist, and apple historian. He is considered one of the most influential figures in the revival of heritage

apples An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

and

cider Cider ( ) is an alcoholic beverage made from the Fermented drink, fermented Apple juice, juice of apples. Cider is widely available in the United Kingdom (particularly in the West Country) and Ireland. The United Kingdom has the world's highest ...

in the United States.

Early life and education

Burford was born on Tobacco Row Mountain in

Amherst County, Virginia Amherst County is a county, located in the Piedmont region and near the center of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The county is part of the Lynchburg Metropolitan Statistical Area, and its county seat is also named Amhers ...

. His Burford ancestors were early settlers of Amherst and

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

Counties, first arriving in 1715. He studied philosophy at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

Career

He and his brother ran Burford Brothers, a company which ran several businesses including a forestry business, a sawmill, and a construction company that specialized in passive solar construction. When he closed his business in 1994, he gave his collection of more than 200 heirloom apple varieties to Vintage Virginia Apples in North Garden, Virginia. Burford was a consultant on the care of old orchards and the design of new ones. He lectured for many years on the history of apple cultivation in the United States and the origins of the apple. He held yearly workshops on apple grafting, including at

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary residence and plantation of Thomas Jefferson, a Founding Father, author of the Declaration of Independence, and the third president of the United States. Jefferson began designing Monticello after inheriting l ...

. Notably Burford confirmed the identity of the Harrison cider apple when it was rediscovered in the latter 20th century. Previously this variety was believed to be lost. Historically the Harrison had the highest reputation among cider apples. Subsequently Tom made Harrison grafts available to orchards in the United States and exported grafts to France.

Awards and honors

He won the 2014

American Horticultural Society The American Horticultural Society (AHS) is a nonprofit, membership-based organization that promotes American horticulture. It is headquartered at River Farm in Alexandria, Virginia. History Established in 1922, the AHS is one of the oldest nat ...

Book Award for his book ''Apples of North America''. He won the 2015 "Founding Cville" award from the Tom Tom Founders Festival.

Books

*''Apples: A Catalog of International Varieties'' (T. Burford, 2004) *''Apples of North America: Exceptional Varieties for Growers, Gardeners and Cooks'' (Timber Press, 2013)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burford, Tom Pomologists 2020 deaths 1935 births People from Amherst County, Virginia American horticulturists University of Virginia alumni