Henry Ogle

of Alnwick,

Henry Ogle was a schoolmaster, and not much of a practical mechanic.

1822 He invented a reaping machine which arguably was the precursor of the modern machine. He had a clear idea of what was required but, lacking the practical skills to make it, got two friends of his, Thomas and his son Joseph, iron founders in Alnwick, to construct a model of the machine for him; they added an apparatus for collecting the corn into sheaves. However, Brown was threatened by the workers on the land if he persisted with this machine.

Subsequently, Mr. Ogle went to Chicago

• NB This story has similarity to that of John Common (1778-1868) but some noticeable differences.

See Also

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Sources of Information

• The Engineer 1857/03/13
• Appendix to the specifications of English patents for reaping machines, by Bennet Woodcroft