John Deere (inventor)
1
John Deere (inventor)
John Deere
John Deere
Born
February 7, 1804
Rutland, Vermont
Died
May 17, 1886 (aged 82)
Moline, Illinois
Nationality
American
Occupation
Inventor
Known for
Deere & Company,steel plow
Children
Francis Albert (1828-1848), Jeanette (1830-1916), Ellen Sarah (1832-1897), Frances Alma (1834-1851), Charles (1836-1907),
[1]
Emma Charlotte (1840-1911), Hiram Alvin (1842-1844), Alice Marie (1844-1900), Mary Frances (1851-1851)
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.
John Deere (inventor)
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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.[2][3]
He married in 1827, and[4] fathered nine children.[5]
Steel plow
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.[6] Deere found that
cast-iron plows were not working very well, in the tough prairie soil of
Illinois and remembered the polished needles.[6] 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.[7]
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.[4]
A monument in Middlebury, Vermont marking
the shop in the town where John Deere learned
the blacksmith trade.
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.[4] 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.[4]
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.[8] In 1848, Deere dissolved the partnership with Andrus and moved to Moline, Illinois,
because the city was a transportation hub on the Mississippi River.[9] 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.[10]
The John Deere House in Grand Detour, Illinois,
built 1836
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."[11] Following the Panic of 1857, as business improved, Deere left the day-to-day
operations to his son Charles.[12] In 1868, Deere incorporated his business as Deere & Company.[12]
John Deere (inventor)
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.[3][13] 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.[3][14] He died at home (known as Red Cliff).[15]
Further reading
• Neil Dahlstrom and Jeremy Dahlstrom. The John Deere Story: A Biography of Plowmakers John and Charles
Deere (Northern Illinois University Press, 2005). 204pp.
References
[1] http:/ / www. deere. com/ en_US/ compinfo/ history/ index. html
[2] " The Women in John Deere's Life: Sarah Yates Deere 1780-1826 (http:/ / www. deere. com/ en_US/ compinfo/ student/
SarahYatesDeerebio. html)," Deere & Company, official website. Retrieved 22 May 2007.
[3] " John Deere: A Biography (http:/ / www. deere. com/ en_US/ compinfo/ history/ johndeere. html)," Deere & Company, official website.
Retrieved 22 May 2007.
[4] Leffingwell, Randy. John Deere, ( Google Books) (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=A6RKJf2lwIoC& pg=PA8& dq=JOhn+ Deere+
demarius+ lamb+ 1827& client=firefox-a), MotorBooks/MBI Publishing Company, 2004, p. 8, (ISBN 0760318611)
[5] http:/ / www. deere. com/ en_US/ compinfo/ student/ DemariusDeerebio3. html
[6] " 170 Years of John Deere (http:/ / www. toytractortimes. com/ january07/ )," The Toy Tractor Times, January 2007. Retrieved 22 May 2007.
[7] Attoun, Marti. " American Innovator, Agricultural Icon (http:/ / www. americanprofile. com/ article/ 4689. html)," AmericanProfile.com, 17
April 2005. Retrieved 22 May 2007.
[8] Neil Dahlstrom, and Jeremy Dahlstrom, The John Deere Story: A Biography of Plowmakers John & Charles Deere. Northern Illinois
University Press, 2005, pg. 18
[9] Robert N. Pripps (1995). John Deere Photographic History (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=BQZzjmG0zI0C& pg=PA18). Voyageur
Press. p. 18. .
[10] Hans Halberstadt (2003). The American Family Farm (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=pL-angnX7HAC& pg=PA18). MBI Publishing
Company. p. 18. .
[11] Magee, David. The John Deere Way: Performance that Endures ( Google Books (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=PosxHvyEi6EC&
pg=PA36& dq="I+ will+ never+ put+ my+ name+ on+ a+ product+ that+ does+ not+ have+ in+ it+ the+ best+ that+ is+ in+ me. )), John
Wiley and Sons, 2005, p. 36, (ISBN 0471734292), accessed October 21, 2008.
[12] Haycraft, William R. Yellow Steel: The Story of the Earthmoving Equipment Industry, ( Google Books (http:/ / books. google. com/
books?id=vv0bQHZGebcC& pg=PA86& dq=charles+ deere)), University of Illinois Press, 2002, p. 86, (ISBN 0252071042), accessed
October 21, 2008.
[13] " John Deere: Founder and President 1837-1886 (http:/ / www. deere. com/ en_US/ compinfo/ student/ JohnDeerebio. html)," Deere &
Company, official website. Retrieved 22 May 2007.
[14] Dahlstrom, Neil and Dahlstrom, Jeremy.The John Deere Story: A Biography of Plowmakers John & Charles Deere. Northern Illinois
University Press, 2005, pgs. 101-104
[15] " John Deere Mansion Moline Il (http:/ / www. johndeeremansion. com/ )," John Deere Mansion, official website.
External links
• John Deere (inventor) (http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=9576) at Find a Grave
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Article Sources and Contributors
Article Sources and Contributors
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Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors
File:John Deere portrait.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:John_Deere_portrait.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Wilson, James Grant, 1832-1914; Fiske,
John, 1842-1901; Dick, Charles, 1858-; Homans, James Edward, 1865Image:MiddleburyJohnDeereMonument.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:MiddleburyJohnDeereMonument.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike
3.0 Contributors: PenelopeIsMe
Image:Ogle County-Ashton-Gr Detour 027.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Ogle_County-Ashton-Gr_Detour_027.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution 2.5
Contributors: IvoShandor
License
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