Cyrus McCormick

Mechanical Reaper

  • Cyrus McCormick was an Irish American inventor who got started inventing when he was a Kid!.
  • At the age 15, Cyrus invented a lightweight cradle for harvesting grain. He later had an idea to combine the steps involved in harvesting crops and developed the first mechanical reaper. He developed his idea by inventing a horse-drawn reaper that used back-and-forth-moving cutting blades. Next, a revolving device pushed the cut grain onto the back of the machine.
  • He patented his "Improvement in Machines for Reaping Small Grain" on June 21, 1834. This machine made farming easier - and greatly increased the amount of food farmers could reap, made harvesting easier, lowered costs, and revolutionized farming..