Stephen McCormickBorn 26 Aug 1784; died 28 Aug 1875 at age 91.American inventor and manufacturer of a practical cast iron plow with detachable components. His early achievement, while a youth, was to increase the productivity of a water-powered grist-mill by improving the shape of its nether millstone (the lower of the two millstones) used to grind flour. Though his father desired that he should make law his profession, he flatly refused. He was more interested by invention. By 1816, he had invented a cast-iron plough superior to Charles Newbold's earlier design. McCormick's first of several patents was issued on on 3 Feb 1819. His cast-iron mould board had an adjustable wrought-iron point mounted beneath, able to decrease the draft, while deepening the furrow, and breaking up the soil more effectively. Standardization of the replaceable parts led to the development of improved manufacturing processes.« |
