Statesman, noted Angus and Hereford breeder, newspaper publisher, Purdue University president and long time president of the International Live Stock Exposition,
1865-1951 | Artist: Robert Wadsworth Grafton (1876-1936)
Impact & Accomplishments
Henry Marshall bred Hereford and Angus cattle on his 6,000-acre Marshall Farms near Lafayette, Indiana, and was a prominent exhibitor at state fairs and the International Live Stock Exposition.
He was a member of Indiana’s committee for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904. In 1914, he purchased and merged the Lafayette Journal and the Lafayette Sunday Times, and then in 1919, bought out the rival Daily Times. He operated the Lafayette Journal and Courier until his retirement in 1927.
From 1921 to 1927, Marshall served on the board of Purdue University, including a one-year stint as the university’s acting president at the beginning of that period. During the last four years, he was president and chairman of Purdue’s executive committee.
From 1933 to 1950, Henry Marshall was president of the International, and one of the challenges and triumphs of his leadership period was rebuilding the facilities after the devastating 1934 stock yards fire.
Did You Know?
Marshall served in the Indiana House of Representatives from 1899 until 1905. In the 1903 legislative session he was that chamber's speaker. Following his time in the legislature, Marshall continued to be active in state politics and was a delegate to state and national party conventions. In 1932 Marshall led a group that convinced the Indiana Republican convention to support the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which had prohibited the sale of alcoholic beverages.
In 1921, Marshall was appointed to the board of trustees of Purdue University. The university's president, Winthrop Stone, died in a mountain-climbing accident a few months later, and Marshall was chosen to act as president until a successor could be found. Marshall considered this twelve-month period to be a time of crisis and refused to accept any payment for his services.
Video property of Americana Stock Footage. Marshall was instrumental in helping rebuild the International Live Stock Exposition after the devastating 1934 fire.