Edwin Jackson Kyle

Edwin Jackson Kyle (July 22, 1876 – December 26, 1963) was the U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala from 1945 to 1948. He was also the first Texan to advocate agricultural teaching in state schools successfully.

Kyle graduated with honors in 1899 as class valedictorian before attending Cornell University, where he received a B.S. degree in agriculture in 1901 and an M.S. in 1902. During his time at Cornell, Kyle was a founding member of Cornell's Alpha Zeta fraternity, and "was actively involved in the production of fruits and vegetables for the Pan-American Exposition of 1900." Using $650 of his own money, he purchased the covered grandstand from the Bryan fairgrounds and built wooden bleachers to raise the seating capacity to 500 people. The students unofficially named the athletic field Kyle Field in his honor in 1908.

In 1941, Kyle toured Central and South America on behalf of the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs to study the agriculture economy. The following year the Texas Department of Agriculture appointed him as an official delegate to the second Inter-American Conference on Agriculture in Mexico.

Government Kyle retired from Texas A&M in 1944. For a brief period following his retirement, he served as the Director of the Farm Credit Administration at Houston. In January 1945 he was selected by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt to be the American ambassador to Guatemala. Following his resignation in 1947, Guatemala awarded him the Order of the Quetzal, making him at the time the only American so honored.

Later years In 1948, Kyle returned to Bryan, Texas, where he lived for the rest of his life. He died at his home on December 26, 1963.