As a student as Vassar Collage in 1942, Mary Coker Joslin crossed lines Tokyo (from Japan) and Nanda (from Korea), to eventually generate the line Majos. Majos was used to develop Hampton and Stuart, which were released in 1962, both lines reported high yields, shatter resistance, high oil and disease resistance. These lines were considered valuable contributions to soybean growers in the Southeastern US. Mary Coker Joslin may be the first recorded female soybean breeder.

Dr. Bernard was a USDA-ARS Research Geneticist at the University of Illinois who made immense contributions to soybean genetics and breeding including developing the Clark and Harosoy near-isogenic line collections, and the development of Williams, a soybean line that occupied a substantial portion of USA acerage in the 1970s. Those contributions continue to be utilized by soybean geneticists, breeders and growers today.

In 1907, William Morse was hired by the USDA as a breeder working with grasses, legumes, and new forage plants, making him the first USDA soybean breeder. Morse was one of the founders of the American Soybean Association and oversaw the expansion of soybean from 1,629 acres in 1909 to 15 millions acres in 1943.

One of his greatest contributions was participating in the Dorsett and Morse expedition in 1929, a 2-year excursion to China to collect soybean varieties and learn about soybean growing and processing. The expedition returned with 4,451 varieties, 22% of which are still in the USDA germplasm collection, including over 100 varieties of edamame, which was not previously known in the US.