Biography Of John Deere
                     BIOGRAPHY OF 
JOHN DEERE
Introduction
The American inventor and 
manufacturer John Deere (1804-1886) 
was one of the first to design 
agricultural tools and machines to meet 
the specific needs of midwestern 
farmers.
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Birth
John Deere was born in 1804 in modest 
circumstances in Rutland, Vt., the third 
son of William Rinold and Sarah Yates 
Deere. 
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Education
After receiving the limited education 
available to a country boy, Deere was 
apprenticed at 17 to a blacksmith in 
Middleburn, Vt. He completed his 
apprenticeship in 4 years and became a 
master craftsman.
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Local soil
In 1836 Deere left Vermont for Grand 
Detour, Ill., where he found ready 
employment in his trade. He prospered, 
for the farmers kept him fully occupied 
supplying their customary needs. They 
also presented him with an unusual 
problem posed by the local soil. 
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Movement of 
Operation
In 1848, Deere moved his growing 
operation 70 miles southwest to Moline, 
Illinois, on the east bank of the 
Mississippi River. The river provided 
water power for running a factory, as 
well as riverboats for bringing in raw 
materials and moving plows to market.
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Repeated 
experiments
Repeated experiments produced an 
excellent moldboard and demonstrated 
that further improvements in the plow 
were dependent on using better-quality 
steel. Deere imported such steel from 
an English firm until a Pittsburgh firm 
cast the first plow steel in the United 
States for him.
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Incorporation 
of the 
Business
The business was incorporated in 1868 
with Deere and his son, Charles, in the 
executive positions. During the Civil War 
the company prospered as it diversified 
its output to include wagons, carriages, 
and a full line of agricultural equipment. 
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Modern 
administrativ
e practices
It also adopted modern administrative 
practices and built an efficient sales, 
distribution, and service organization 
which reached into all parts of America. 
Deere remained active in the 
management of the company until his 
fatal illness in 1886. He was succeeded 
by his son.
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Marriage
John Deere married twice. His first wife, 
Demarius Lamb, died in 1865. Two years 
later he married her younger sister, 
Lucinda Lamb.
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Later Year
From his arrival in Moline, Deere was 
actively involved in civic activities, and 
in 1873 he became the second mayor of 
Moline.
John Deere died in 1886, with his heirs 
leading the company for the next 
century.
Source: biography.yourdictionary.com