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.
Author: Wilson, James Grant, 1832-1914; Fiske, John, 1842-1901; Dick, Charles, 1858-; Homans, James Edward, 1865- Source: The Cyclopaedia of American biography. New enl. ed. of Appleton's cyclopaedia of American biography, originally edited by James Grant Wilson and John Fiske. Revision to 1914 complete under editorial supervision of Charles Dick and James E. Homans (1918) License: PD US