Cyrus Hall McCormick invented the mechanical reaper in 1831, a machine that would transform agriculture and reshape civilization. Before the reaper, 90% of Americans worked on farms. Today, just 2% produce more food than the country can consume.
The Invention
Born in Rockbridge County, Virginia, McCormick grew up on his family's 532-acre farm called "Walnut Grove." His father Robert had spent 28 years trying to build a horse-drawn mechanical reaper but never succeeded.
Taking up his father's challenge, Cyrus—with the help of Jo Anderson, an enslaved man on the McCormick plantation—built, tested, and demonstrated the world's first working mechanical reaper in just six weeks during the 1831 harvest season. He was 22 years old.
Building an Empire
Sales were slow at first—farmers were skeptical of the strange machine that looked like "a cross between a wheelbarrow, a chariot, and a flying machine." McCormick sold just 7 reapers in 1842.
But McCormick was as innovative in business as in engineering. He pioneered practices that seem obvious today: money-back guarantees, installment payments, customer demonstrations, and testimonial advertising. By 1847, he had relocated to Chicago to be closer to the vast grain fields of the Midwest.
International Recognition
At the 1851 London Crystal Palace Exposition, McCormick's reaper became an international sensation, winning the Gold Medal. The French government named him an Officer of the Legion of Honor.
In 1878, the French Academy of Sciences elected McCormick a corresponding member, declaring he had "done more for the cause of agriculture than any other living man."
Legacy
McCormick's invention didn't just change farming—it changed everything. By freeing millions from agricultural labor, the reaper enabled industrialization, urbanization, and the rise of the modern economy.
In 1902, the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company merged with several competitors to form International Harvester, which dominated agricultural equipment for most of the 20th century.
"The reaper is to the North what slavery is to the South. By taking the place of regiments of young men in the harvest fields, it released them to do battle for the Union."