Artist: Othmar J. Hoffler (1893–1954)
William Henry Tomhave
TOMHAVE, WILLIAM HENRY (1881–1954), inducted 1941
W. H. Tomhave was born in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, and educated at the University of Minnesota. In 1907, he accepted a position as an assistant in animal husbandry at Pennsylvania State University but only taught for one year before taking a two-year overseas assignment with the US Department of Agriculture, where he advised the Chinese government in livestock development. When he returned to the States, he spent two years in extension at the Minnesota research farm but was called back to the Penn State faculty in 1912, serving as department head 1913–1925. Professor Tomhave initiated the first meats course at the university and authored the textbook, Meat and Meat Products. From 1925 to 1946, Tomhave served as secretary of the American Aberdeen Angus Association. During his long tenure there, he changed controversial governance procedures, maintained a balanced budget during the Great Depression, and rebuilt association headquarters after the 1934 Chicago fire. He served as chairman of the first Reciprocal Meats Conference, held in 1948. W. H. Tomhave was inducted into the Angus Heritage Foundation Hall of Fame in 1983.
Source: Saddle & Sirloin Guidebook 2026, p. 189