Satyanand Stokes

Born Samuel Evans Stokes in Philadelphia, he came to India in 1904, settled at Kotgarh in the Shimla hills, married locally and later converted to Hinduism, taking the name Satyanand.

He campaigned against begar (forced labour) and was the only American to be a member of the All India Congress Committee; he was imprisoned after the 1921 non-cooperation movement.

In 1916 he introduced Red Delicious apple stock from Louisiana at Kotgarh. Apple cultivation spread from there through Shimla, Kinnaur, Kullu and Mandi and is now the backbone of the rural economy — which makes Stokes a figure in both the history and the economy papers.