McCormick was a Chicago industrialist and inventor in 1831 of the first commercially successful reaper, a horse-drawn machine to harvest wheat. He formed the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company in 1848 to manufacture and sell his invention, and through innovative marketing techniques the Chicago firm grew into the largest farm equipment manufacturer in the United States. The company eventually became part of the International Harvester Company.

       McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, later McCormick and Deering merged into one

International Harverster Company.

       ?Father Robert invented the harvester reaper and son Cyrus later redesigned and manufactured.

Cyrus Hall McCormick, Sr.

Born February 15, 1809

Rockbridge County, Virginia

Died May 13, 1884

Chicago

Known for International Harvester

Spouse(s) Nancy Maria Fowler (1846-1912)

Parents Robert Hall McCormick

Relatives Leander J. McCormick, brother

William Sanderson McCormick, brother

Cyrus Hall McCormick, Sr. (February 15, 1809 – May 13, 1884) of Rockbridge County, Virginia was an American inventor and founder of the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, which became part of International Harvester Company in 1902.[1]

He was born at "Woodbridge", the McCormick family farm in Rockbridge County, Virginia, in the Shenandoah Valley on the western side of the Blue Ridge Mountains. His parents were, Mary Ann Hall; and Robert Hall McCormick. His siblings included: Leander J. McCormick and William Sanderson McCormick. He was influenced by his father, who patented early versions of the reaper, which were unsuccessful. His father passed the invention on to him and he perfected it soon after.

      Reaper

      His father, the inventor Robert Hall McCormick, worked for 28 years on a horse-drawn reaper. However, he was not able to finish his project and stopped developing it. Cyrus was given the project, and developed a final version of the reaper in 18 months. The reaper was demonstrated in tests in 1831 and was patented by Cyrus in 1834.

       In 1839 he and his brother moved to Chicago, where they established large centralized works for manufacturing agricultural implements; they were joined by their brother William in 1849. The McCormick reaper sold well, partially as a result of savvy and innovative business practices. Their products came onto the market just as the development of railroads offered wide distribution to distant market areas. He developed marketing and sales techniques, developing a vast network of trained salesmen able to demonstrate operation of the machines in the field. William H. Seward said of McCormicks invention that owing to it "the line of civilization moves westward thirty miles each year." One of the companys most famous advertisement featured an epic painting by Emanuel Leutze with the slogan, “Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way with McCormick Reapers in the Van". [Wikipedia2008]

Bib:

A Brief History of the origin of the McCormick Reaper, by Robert McCormick, in “Farmers Advance” March 1882. (included in Memorial of Robert McCormick, Life, Character and Inventions, Chicago, Barnard & Gunthorp, 1885,)