Charles L. Stewart was a distinguished professor of agricultural economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, contributing significantly to the field of Agricultural and Veterinary Science through his expertise in land policy and farm economics over a 35-year tenure from 1924 to 1959. Born on September 3, 1890, in Moweaqua, Illinois, he earned his bachelor’s degree summa cum laude from Illinois Wesleyan University in 1910. Stewart pursued graduate studies at the University of Illinois, receiving his master’s degree in 1912 and PhD in 1915. His early career featured roles as an instructor in economics at the University of Illinois during World War I, head of the Department of Sociology and Economics at the University of Arkansas, and land tenure specialist in the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. Returning to the University of Illinois in 1924, he introduced the institution’s inaugural courses on marketing farm products and rural credits, establishing foundational coursework in agricultural economics.

Stewart became a leading authority on U.S. and foreign agriculture, land use, tenure, farm appraisal, and real-estate valuations. Working alongside colleagues W.L. Burlison, H.C.M. Case, R.R. Hudelson, and H.W. Mumford, he advanced the prominence of farm appraisal within agricultural economics. His major publications include Land Tenure in the United States: With Special Reference to Illinois (1916), Supply and Marketing of Soybeans and Soybean Products (1932), Farm Real-Estate Valuations in Illinois with Special Reference to Township Averages: An Analysis of 1930 Census Data (1934), Farm Inheritance Laws in Other Countries: What We Can Learn from Their Effects on Farms (1956), and Land Use Information: A Critical Survey of United States Statistics, Including Possibilities for Greater Uniformity co-authored with Marion Clawson (1966). In 1938, he was awarded a grant by the Social Science Research Council for land economics studies in foreign countries. Post-retirement, Stewart consulted for the Illinois Division of Highways on rural property appraisals and for the University of Kabul in Afghanistan in 1963. The Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers recognized his impact with the 1960 Land Economist honor. Stewart passed away on September 1, 1974.