• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

Cyrus McCormick, overshadowed by Darwin/Lincoln

Share this page

V

vagt6

Guest
Guest
Offline
With all the hoopla going on in the news about the 200th anneversary of Charles Darwin/Abe Lincoln birthdays, I feel that another really great man has been somewhat overlooked:

<span style="font-weight: bold">Cyrus McCormick</span>"the father of modern agriculture". Born in VA in 1809, he invented the "Virginia Reaper" that changed the world: literally tens of millions were affected by his agricultural inventions and he was internationally recognized. His invention increased farm productivity by almost ten fold. He also introduced new ways to finance and support farming, and was a great philanthropist.

He and his brother, Leander, also gave tons of money to UVA. Leander McCormick funded the construction of the McCormick observatory at UVA, one of the world's largest telescopes in it's day. It's still in operation and a real treat to visit.

Cyrus McCormick is among the greatest of 19th century inventors, no doubt about it. Here's to his memory :cheers:
 
and lets not forget Forest Tucker.


m
 
And Lincoln is connected to McCormick when he was one of the lawyers representing a company McCormick sued for patent infringment in 1855. Lincoln ended up doing very little since the other attorneys considered him a backwoods bumkin but still made $2500 for himself and his partner.
 
How very interesting about the Lincoln connection!

McCormick's company later morphed into other manufacturers that became International Harvester Corp. in 1902. His son was V.P.

Okay, that's my nostalgia thing for the day . . . who's next? :crazyeyes:
 
And while Cyrus McCormick contributed something to society, Darwin contributed nothing but controversy.
{tongue in cheek} Stands to reason why anyone would want to celebrate him ..... go figure!
 
Gotta remember Darwin's thesis is still just an unproven "theory".


Kinda like "gravity".
 
RonMacPherson said:
Gotta remember Darwin's thesis is still just an unproven "theory".


Kinda like "gravity".
Click to expand...


. . . and the earth is flat, too? :crazyeyes:
 
Back
Top