Daniel Best (born March 20, 1838 in Tuscarawas County, Ohio) was an adventurer, inventor, and entrepreneur that left his mark on history by leaving a legacy of agriculture machinery that culminated with a business merger that launched an icon in heavy machinery. Events 1600 - The Linköping Bloodbath takes place on Maundy Thursday in Linköping, Sweden. Year 1838 ( MDCCCXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Tuscarawas County is a County located in the eastern part of the state of Ohio.
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Early years
In 1839, Daniel Best’s father, John, moved the family to Missouri. Missouri ( or) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee There he built a saw mill and proceeded to cut lumber for the local pioneers to use in building their homes. A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards Sawmill process A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of 100 years ago a log enters The first nine years of Daniel's life were spent here and is probably where he received his interest in logging and machines.
In 1847, the family moved again to Lee County Iowa, here they took up farming and raised stock. In 1859 Daniel, itching for adventure and wanting to follow his brother, joined a wagon train heading west to Fort Walla Walla, Washington, employed as an ox tender and a sharpshooter. Wagon Train is a Television Western Series on NBC from 1957 - 1962 and then on ABC from 1962- Walla Walla is both the County seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, and the county's largest city
Life in the West
As was the case for many other Americans of his day, the West changed Daniel Best’s life - but not how he expected. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Along the way, he went from fighting Indians to befriending Indians. Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States Once the wagon train reached its destination, Daniel went his own way to try his hand at gold mining followed by working in sawmills and eventually building his own sawmill. "Gold mine" redirects here See Goldmine for other uses of the term
While working in his sawmill, an accident occurred that changed the course of his life; he lost the first three fingers of his left hand. The hands ( med / lat: manus pl manūs are the two intricate prehensile multi- Fingered body parts normally located at the end of each arm of a It was at this time in his life, as he would say later, that he began to use his head. He then moved to Sutter County, California to work with his brother, Henry Best, on his ranch. Sutter County is a county located along the Sacramento River in the Central Valley of the U This is where he found his true calling as an inventor.
Inventions
Over a period of forty-three years, Daniel Best received 41 patents, ranging from an improved washing machine to combine harvesters. A washing machine, or washer, is a machine designed to clean Laundry, such as Clothing, Towels and sheets The term is mostly applied The combine harvester, or simply combine, also known as a thresher is a machine that combines the His first invention, patented April 25, 1871, was a portable grain cleaner and separator, prior to this, farmers had to haul their grain to town to have it cleaned and separated; now the cleaner and separator could be brought to the grain. This invention won first prize at the California State Fair in 1871. The California Exposition and State Fair is the annual State fair for the State of California.
While continuing to produce grain cleaners Daniel began experimenting with the idea of combining grain harvesting, threshing and cleaning in one machine. He was successful in 1885 when he sold his first horse powered combined harvester. This new addition to his product line gave him the capital and the means to move onto the next major invention. Product lining is the Marketing strategy of offering for sale several related products. It was actually an improvement on an existing design, but is still one of his better known inventions.
Traction Engine
Daniel Best, as with most industrialists, was always looking to improve, simplify, or create pieces of equipment that would ease operations. It began when he saw the need for an improved traction engine, what we call a steam engine today, to pull his combine harvesters. A traction engine is a self-propelled Steam engine used to move heavy loads on roads plough ground or to provide power at a chosen location A steam engine is a Heat engine that performs Mechanical work using Steam as its Working fluid. He first purchased the rights to build a successful steam traction engine from Remington of Woodburn, Oregon in 1888. Woodburn is a city in Marion County, Oregon, United States. The population was 20100 at the 2000 census He immediately began to make improvements until his engines were known as the strongest most dependable and longest lasting engines around.
Around 1891, Daniel began to experiment with gas engines to replace the steam engines on his tractors. He developed his first gas powered tractor in 1896. To prove its superiority, he staged a tug of war between his steam engine and his new gas powered engine. Tug of war, tug o' war, or tug war, also known as rope pulling, is a Sport that directly puts two teams against each other in a test of strength Not only did the gas engine win, but it pulled the steam engine around the block. The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the Combustion of Fuel and an Oxidizer (typically air occurs in a confined space called a As word spread of his dependable traction engines, he received more and more orders from clients all around the world, from as far away as Russia. At this time, Daniel was selling $400,000 worth of machinery per year.
Retirement
In 1908, at the age of 70, Daniel retired. His son, C. L. Best ("Leo"), continued in his father’s footsteps, and with his father still giving advice, continued to experiment and improve on their tractors.
One improvement made was the track laying design. This type of tractor moved on rolling tracks instead of wheels. He made several different models, but two really stood out as notable. The two models; the 30 hp field tractor, and the 60 hp field tractor were well received and highly praised by the farming community. These tractors would eventually launch a new line of tractors that are still used today.
Caterpillar Tractor Company
In 1925, the C. L. Best Tractor Company and the Holt Manufacturing Company, who also manufactured tractors and was experimenting with the track laying design, merged together. Leo became the chairman of the board of this new company, a position he held until 1951, and oversaw it to become the largest manufacturer of heavy machinery and farm equipment world wide. Agricultural machinery is any kind of Machinery used on a Farm to help with Farming. The company they formed is called the Caterpillar Tractor Company. Caterpillar Inc ( is a United States -based Corporation headquartered in Peoria Illinois.
References
- Backus, R. (2004). 100 Years on Tracks. Retrieved from Gas Engine Magazine
- Daniel Best, Cool Stuff & the Incredible Feats of Construction
- Daniel Best Steam Tractor, Oakland Museum of California
- Galloway, Brent D. (1968). Daniel Best, a Biography. Galloway.
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