John Deere invented the modern steel plow and patented an improved version in 1837.
Deere was a blacksmith working in Grand Detour, Illinois, when he developed a polished steel plow. Its smooth surface helped it move through the sticky prairie soil of the American Midwest, where earlier iron or cast-iron plows often became clogged.
The design was not simply a stronger plow: its polished steel moldboard allowed soil to slide away more readily. Deere began manufacturing the implement commercially, and the business eventually grew into Deere & Company.
John Deere is often confused with Cyrus McCormick because both transformed agriculture in the nineteenth century. Deere’s key contribution was the steel plow, while McCormick became famous for the mechanical reaper used to cut crops.