Persona

Hardy, Evan A.

1890-1963

Evan Alan Hardy was born in Sioux City, Iowa on October 1, 1890. His father operated a small farm and a blacksmith shop, in which the young Hardy showed a keen interest in his high school years. After completing high school, Evan Hardy spent three busy years dividing his time between the farm and the blacksmith shop. He then enrolled in a course in agricultural engineering in the University of Iowa at Ames. In 1917, he earned a B.Sc., married, and accepted a teaching position at the University of Saskatchewan as an instructor in agricultural engineering at the College of Agriculture. In 1919, he became a full Professor and started teaching classes in the College of Engineering. He returned to Iowa to continue his studies and came back in Saskatoon with an M.Sc. (1923) from Iowa State College. From 1926 to 1951, Hardy was head of the department of Agricultural Engineering. During his career at the U of S, Hardy advocated the growth of mechanized farming and designed many implements for use on the prairies. For his outstanding work he was awarded a Fellowship in the Agricultural Institute of Canada in 1948. While on leave in 1951, he went to work for the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization in northern Ceylon (Sri Lanka). He took early retirement from the University in 1952 and remained in Ceylon. In 1956, he moved to Amparai where he founded the Technical Training Institute, now known as the Hardy Institute of Technical Training. He remained there until his death on December 4, 1963. Hardy received an LL.D. from the University of Saskatchewan in 1957. Evan Hardy Collegiate, a Saskatoon public school which opened in 1965, was named in his honour. In 1964, the Hardy Laboratory for Agricultural Engineering was posthumously dedicated in his honour.