Albert A. Klingebiel was born on October 1, 1910, on a farm two miles southwest of Hinton, Iowa. He received his B.S. (1936) in agronomy and his M.S. (1937) in soil microbiology from Iowa State College (University). His career began with the USDA Forest Service prior to acceptance of a position as Soil Scientist with the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) in 1938. He was placed in charge of training new professional employees in eight Midwestern states in 1940, and, in 1946, was selected as the SCS State Soil Scientist for Illinois. The USDA Agricultural Research Service appointed him Director (1952-1954) of Soil and Water Management Research in Illinois. In 1954, he became Assistant Director (1954-1956) and then Director (1956-1973) of Soil Survey Interpretations for the SCS in Washington, D.C., serving at this post until retirement from the SCS.



Besides the many contributions of Mr. Klingebiel in the use of soil survey interpretations in comprehensive land-use planning while with SCS, he authored more than fifty scientific articles and contributed to several books on soils and soil interpretations. He was also an active member of the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) and served in various positions with the organization including SSSA Representative to the American Institute of Planners and the American Society of Planning Officials. After his retirement from the SCS in 1973, Mr. Klingebiel did consulting work for numerous agencies and organizations worldwide on the use of satellite imagery to determine soil potential for the production of food and fiber crops.