Cyrus Hall McCormick (1809-1884)
The son of a farmer/blacksmith/inventor, Cyrus McCormick applied his talents to the invention, improvement, manufacture and marketing of a successful mechanical reaper, patented in 1834. Reapers, pulled by horses, cut the grain for harvesters to bind and stack in the fields. Prior to adoption of the mechanical reaper, a farmer could only plant as much wheat as he could harvest since ripe wheat was easily ruined. The grain was often lost during harvest if the wheat was overripe, and storms could destroy entire crops. Labor was expensive because it was in great demand. The reaper allowed farmers to plant more wheat because they had the potential to harvest more. McCormick moved to Chicago in 1847 to take advantage of the growing market for reapers as wheat cultivation moved into the plains of the United States and Canada. Reapers and other machines revolutionized grain cultivation and as the international grain trade increased after 1880 mechanization became more important. In 1902 his son Cyrus, Jr. merged McCormick Company with other firms to form International Harvester Company. It competed successfully with a half dozen other farm machinery manufacturers for worldwide distribution up to the late 1980s.
Additional Information Can Be Found At...
McCormick, Cyrus Hall - Encarta Online Deluxe