John Appleby (inventor) facts for kids
John Francis Appleby (born in 1840, died in 1917) was an American inventor. He created a special device that tied knots to bundle grain. This invention became super important for all farm machines that harvested grain. Big companies used his knotting device a lot in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Appleby's invention was a huge step forward for farming. It also helped grow the big wheat fields in the western United States.
Early Life and Ideas
John Francis Appleby was born in a place called Westmoreland, New York in 1840. When he was four years old, in 1844, his large family moved. They traveled by boat to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. When John was only 18, he invented a basic knotting device. This was the same idea that would later be used in all farm binding machines. But at that time, no one was interested in his invention.
He joined the army and fought in the American Civil War. He served from 1862 to 1865 with the 23rd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment. During the war, Appleby invented a special gun. It was a manual magazine-feed breech-loading needle gun. He even got a patent for it. However, the U.S. government did not want his gun. So, Appleby sold his patent for $500. This gun was later used a lot by the Prussian Army.
Developing the Grain Binder
After the war, John Appleby went back to Wisconsin. By 1874, he had made a successful machine that tied grain with wire. But farmers did not like using wire. Small pieces of wire sometimes got into the animal feed. This could hurt or even kill cattle if they ate it. Because of this, Appleby could not get money to support his wire binder.
By 1878, Appleby had created a much better machine. This one was a successful twine binder, and he got a patent for it. Twine binders were much safer. They did not cut into the wheat. Also, unlike wire binders, they did not harm cattle that might accidentally eat a piece of twine.
He allowed a company called Gammon and Deering to use his twine binder invention. They put it into their Marsh Harvester grain binders and harvesters. Because of Appleby's twine binder, The Deering Harvester Company (as it was called in 1880) sold more machines than its rivals.
Soon, Appleby's design became the standard for tying grain. It was used on machines made by other big companies. These included Cyrus McCormick’s McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, Champion Machine Works, and the D.M. Osborne Co.
Later Years
In 1881, Appleby sold his rights to the grain binder machine patent to Champion Machine. He kept working on many different inventions. In 1905, he received a patent for a horse-drawn cotton harvesting machine.
John Francis Appleby passed away in Chicago in November 1917. A small town in Appleby, South Dakota is named after him.
