Stephen McCormick

Today is the birthday of Stephen McCormick, who was born on this day in 1784.

McCormick was from Auburn, Virginia, and he patented a cast-iron plow with replaceable parts.
Inventing equipment for agriculture was something of a family activity; his cousin of was Cyrus McCormick, inventor of the famous reaper.
The concept of removable, replaceable parts created the need for factories to build them. Farmers liked the idea of only needing to buy the parts they needed; instead of purchasing an entirely new plow.
In a little over a decade, McCormick had sold more than 10,00 plows.