John Deere (inventor)

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John Deere (inventor) bigraphy, stories - Inventors

John Deere (inventor) : biography

February 7, 1804 – May 17, 1886

John Deere (February 7, 1804 – May 17, 1886) was an American blacksmith and manufacturer who founded Deere & Company, one of the largest and leading agricultural and construction equipment manufacturers in the world. Born in Rutland, Vermont, Deere moved to Illinois and invented the first commercially successful steel plow in 1837.

Later life

Later in life Deere focused most of his attention on civil and political affairs. He served as President of the National Bank of Moline, a director of the Moline Free Public Library, and was a trustee of the First Congregational Church."," Deere & Company, official website. Retrieved May 22, 2007. Deere also served as Moline’s mayor for two years but due to chest pains and dysentery Deere refused to run for a second term.Dahlstrom, Neil and Dahlstrom, Jeremy.The John Deere Story: A Biography of Plowmakers John & Charles Deere. Northern Illinois University Press, 2005, pgs. 101-104 He died at home (known as Red Cliff)."," John Deere Mansion, official website.

Steel plow

A monument in [[Middlebury, Vermont marking the shop in the town where John Deere learned the blacksmith trade.]] John Deere settled in Grand Detour, Illinois. As there were no other blacksmiths in the area, he had no difficulty finding work. Growing up in his father’s Rutland, Vermont, tailor shop, Deere had polished and sharpened needles by running them through sand. This polishing helped the needles sew through soft leather."," The Toy Tractor Times, January 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2007. Deere found that cast-iron plows were not working very well, in the tough prairie soil of Illinois and remembered the polished needles. Deere came to the conclusion that a plow made out of highly polished steel and a correctly shaped moldboard (the self-scouring steel plow) would be better able to handle the soil conditions of the prairie, especially its sticky clay.Attoun, Marti. "," AmericanProfile.com, April 17, 2005. Retrieved May 22, 2007.

There are varying versions of the inspiration for Deere’s famous steel plow. In another version he recalled the way the polished steel pitchfork tines moved through hay and soil and thought that same effect could be obtained for a plow. The John Deere House in [[Grand Detour, Illinois, built 1836]] In 1837, Deere developed and manufactured the first commercially successful cast-steel plow. The wrought-iron framed plow had a polished steel share. This made it ideal for the tough soil of the Midwest and worked better than other plows.Leffingwell, Randy. "," (Google Books), motor books/MBI Publishing Company, 2004, pg. 10, (ISBN 0760318611). Retrieved May 21, 2007. By early 1838, Deere completed his first steel plow and sold it to a local farmer, Lewis Crandall, who quickly spread word of his success with Deere’s plow. Subsequently two neighbors soon placed orders with Deere. By 1841, Deere was manufacturing 75-100 plows per year.

In 1843, Deere partnered with Leonard Andrus to produce more plows to keep up with demand. However, the partnership became strained due to the two men’s stubbornness – while Deere wished to sell to customers outside Grand Detour, Andrus opposed a proposed railroad through Grand Detour – and Deere’s distrust of Andrus’ accounting practices.Neil Dahlstrom, and Jeremy Dahlstrom, The John Deere Story: A Biography of Plowmakers John & Charles Deere. Northern Illinois University Press, 2005, pg. 18 In 1848, Deere dissolved the partnership with Andrus and moved to Moline, Illinois, because the city was a transportation hub on the Mississippi River. By 1855, Deere’s factory sold more than 10,000 such plows. It became known as "The Plow that Broke the Plains" and is commemorated as such in a historic place marker in Vermont.

Deere insisted on making high-quality equipment. He once said, "I will never put my name on a product that does not have in it the best that is in me."Magee, David. The John Deere Way: Performance that Endures (), John Wiley and Sons, 2005, p. 36, (ISBN 0471734292), accessed October 21, 2008. Following the Panic of 1857, as business improved, Deere left the day-to-day operations to his son Charles.Haycraft, William R. Yellow Steel: The Story of the Earthmoving Equipment Industry, (), University of Illinois Press, 2002, p. 86, (ISBN 0252071042), accessed October 21, 2008. In 1868, Deere incorporated his business as Deere & Company.

Early life

John Deere was born February 7, 1804, in Rutland, Vermont. After a meager education, he was apprenticed in 1821 at age 17, to Captain Benjamin Lawrence, a prosperous Middlebury blacksmith, and entered the trade for himself in 1825."," Deere & Company, official website. Retrieved May 22, 2007."," Deere & Company, official website. Retrieved May 22, 2007.

He married in 1827, andLeffingwell, Randy. John Deere, (, MotorBooks/MBI Publishing Company, 2004, p. 8, (ISBN 0760318611) fathered nine children.http://www.deere.com/en_US/compinfo/student/DemariusDeerebio3.html