The McCormick reaper was a famous agricultural implement that sharply improved farm productivity in the 19th century. The reaper cut grain like wheat much faster than was possible with hand tools. It was made by the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company in Chicago. Cyrus Hall McCormick (1809 – 1884) was the American inventor and businessman who founded the company. It became part of the International Harvester Company in 1902.[1][2]
- ^ "Cyrus Hall McCormick". Wisconsin Historical Society. Archived from the original on September 5, 2007.
- ^ David A. Hounshell, From the American system to mass production, 1800--1932. (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1984) esp. "The McCormick Reaper Works and American Manufacturing Technology in the Nineteenth Century" pp 153-188. online