Sir Charles Edward Saunders, (February 2, 1867 – July 25, 1937) was a Canadian agronomist. He was the inventor of the 'Marquis' wheat cultivar. Saunders Secondary School in London, Ontario is named for him and other members of his prominent family, including his father, agriculturist William Saunders and naturalist brother William Edwin Saunders. Early life and education Saunders was born in London, Canada West, on Feb. 2, 1867, son of William and Sarah Agnes Robinson Saunders. He received his early education in the elementary and collegiate system in London. He received a Bachelor of Arts in chemistry from the University of Toronto in 1888. From 1888 to 1893, he specialized in chemistry at summer school at Harvard University. In 1891, he received a Ph.D for chemistry from Johns Hopkins University. He studied at the Sorbonne. Saunders learned most of what he knew about plant hybridization at home through his family. Some of his earliest memories are of driving with his father to a fruit farm outside the city limits, where he would help him hybridize grapes, currants, raspberries, and gooseberries. Saunders married Mary Blackwell of Toronto in 1892. Careers From 1892 to 1893, Saunders was the professor of chemistry and geology at Central University in Kentucky. Between 1894 and 1903, he studied flute with E. M. Heindl of the Boston Symphony Orchestra at the New England Conservatory of Music and with Eugene Weiner of the New York Philharmonic Club. He also received voice training. In Toronto, in addition to acting as an agent, he gave lessons in singing and flute playing. In 1895-1896 Saunders was a columnist in The Week, writing about various aspects of music. His musical career was not a financial success, however. 1903 to 1920 1903 William Saunders, Charles' father, appointed him Experimentalist at the Experimental Farm in Ottawa in 1903, a title that became Cerealist in 1905 and Dominion Cerealist in 1910. The new work continued family tradition, for Saunders's father had founded the system of experimental farms established in Canada, and his brother, Percy, had done considerable work in cross-breeding strains of wheat. Saunders turned enthusiastically to his new tasks. Following up his brother's research, he completed development of 'Marquis' wheat in 1904, a cultivar which showed marked superiority in milling quality for bread flour over other varieties popular in western Canada. 'Marquis' had the advantage of maturing 10 days earlier than its competitors -