Shepherd, Harry W, (1890-1965)

Harry Whitcomb Shepherd was born in 1890 in Massachusetts, and later moved to Monrovia, California. Shepherd received his B.S. in Landscape Engineering and Planning in 1914 from the University of California, Berkeley (UCB), the first graduate of the newly established Landscape Department. Upon completing his course work at UCB, he worked as an assistant to the Los Angeles Beautification Committee. In 1915 Shepherd became an instructor at the Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles, California, teaching courses in landscape engineering and horticulture at the school until 1918. Shepherd began his university teaching career at the University of California, Davis, where he was an instructor in the Division of Landscape Design from 1922-1925. He then moved to UCB, where he was an assistant professor until his retirement in 1955. Shepherd took a sabbatical leave from UCB in 1932, using the time to travel and study gardens in Europe.

Throughout his career as an instructor, Shepherd wrote several articles and reports on the topic of horticulture and intermittently conducted an outside private practice. From 1925-1929 he was a landscape architect consultant and assistant to Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. (Olmsted Brothers). Shepherd also designed and supervised the landscape developments for the Golden Gate International Exposition (1938-1939) and acted as a landscape consultant for the California Garden Show (1942, Oakland). Shepherd was an active member of the American Society of Landscape Architects, serving as president of the San Francisco chapter from 1941-1942.