Percy Harold Wright was born in Lachine, Quebec on July 2, 1898. In 1907 his family moved to a homestead near Tramping Lake, Saskatchewan. He earned a B.A. and M.A. from the University of Saskatchewan in 1929 and 1931. He also graduated from the Saskatoon Normal School and held various teaching positions. When he was fifteen he was confined to bed with a case of scarlet fever, it was during this time that he was introduce to the genetic works of the German monk Mendel. This would lead to a life plant breeding and horticultural innovation. In 1924 he established the Wilkie Fruit Nursery, moved operations north opening the Carrot River Valley Nursery in 1939 and finally moved his family to Saskatoon in 1956. Wright developed more than 50 prairie hardy cultivars and his articles on horticulture were published widely. He died in Saskatoon in April of 1989.