John Deere

We've all heard of John Deere the "tractor guy". He was born in Rutland, Vermont to William Rinold Deere and Sarah Yates Deere on February 7, 1804 as their third son. His father left for England in 1808 in hopes of claiming an inheritance and was never heard from again. It was presumed he died at sea. At the age of 17, John apprenticed himself and learned the trade of blacksmiths and entered it himself in 1825. In 1827 he married and during his life had nine children.

 In 1836, trying to provide for his family with depressing business conditions in Vermont, John traveled alone to Grand Detour, Illinois to make a fresh start.  Many pioneer farmers were trying to find a fresh start there but were struggling to turn heavy, sticky prairie soil with cast iron plows made for the light, sandy soil of New England. John had the idea that they needed a plow that was highly polished and properly shaped to scour itself as it cut furrows. In 1837, he made just that with a broken saw blade. By 1841, he was making 100 plows annually and in 1843 he entered a partnership with Leonard Andrus to help produce more because of increasing demand. Unfortunately, John dissolved his partnership with Andrus and moved his business and family to Moline, Illinois because of water power, coal and cheaper transportation.

In 1850, around 1600 plows were made, along with other tools to complement the steel plow. In 1858, John transferred leadership of the company to his son Charles, who served as vice president of the company. John remained president but focused more to civic and political activities. He was active in public life throughout his career in Moline. He was the founder and president of the National Bank of Moline, was an active member of the First Congregational Church, and served as the city's mayor for 2 years. John died at the age of 82 on May 17, 1886 in Moline.

Sources: http://www.deere.com/wps/dcom/en_US/corporate/our_company/about_us/history/past_leaders/john_deere_founder_biography.page
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Deere_(inventor)#cite_note-deere.com-1