Who invented the first gasoline tractor?
1 Answer
The first gasoline tractor was invented by John Froelich from Girard, Iowa in 1890,
Explanation:
John Froelich, the inventor of the first internal-combustion traction motor, or tractor, is born on this day in Girard, Iowa.
At the end of the 19th century, John Froelich operated a grain elevator and mobile threshing service out of Girard Iowa. Each year at harvest time, he and a crew of hired hands used a heavy steam-powered thresher throughout Iowa and the Dakotas and would thresh farmers’ crops for a fee.
His steam engine powered machine was bulky, difficult to transport and expensive to use. It was also dangerous. One spark from the boiler on a windy day could set the whole prairie on fire.
In 1890, Froelich decided to try something new. He would with his blacksmith to mount a one-cylinder gasoline engine on his steam engine’s running gear. He tested it successfully in a nearby field.
The real test came when Froelich and his team took their new machine out on their annual threshing tour. The gasoline powered tractor was extremely successful there as well. Using just 26 gallons of gas, they threshed more than a thousand bushels of grain every day (72,000 bushels in all). All without starting a single fire.
