Artist: Othmar J. Hoffler (1893–1954)
Benjamin Tomkins Sr.
TOMKINS, BENJAMIN SR. (1714–1789), inducted between 1920–1948
Although Alvin Sanders, one of the founders of the Saddle & Sirloin Club and a historian of the Hereford breed, held Ben Tomkins in highest esteem and lobbied for his portrait to be added to the collection, it was not hung in the Club until sometime after 1920. Benjamin Tomkins, born in Herefordshire, England, is credited with founding the Hereford breed with two cows, Pidgeon and Mottle, and a bull calf from the cow Silver—animals Tomkins inherited from his father’s estate. Beginning around 1738, Ben Tomkins conducted systematic breeding practices, years before Robert Bakewell’s work in animal breeding. His son, Ben Tomkins Jr., continued his pioneering cattle improvement work.
Source: Saddle & Sirloin Guidebook 2026, p. 189