Born February 15, 1809

Rockbridge County, Virginia

Died May 13, 1884

Chicago, Illinois

American inventor

"The reaping machine from the United States is the most valuable contribution from abroad, to the stock of our previous knowledge, that we have yet discovered."

—London Times, 1851, commenting on Cyrus McCormick's major invention, the mechanical reaper.

American inventor and businessman Cyrus McCormick is widely credited with inventing the mechanical reaper, a machine for harvesting grain crops, which greatly expanded the amount of work one farmer could accomplish, revolutionizing U.S. agriculture.

Anyone who eats a bowl of cereal for breakfast or a sandwich for lunch has been affected by McCormick. It was McCormick who took a design developed by his father, Robert McCormick, for an automated reaper, improved it,...