Patrick Bell

Patrick Bell (12 May 1799 – 22 April 1869) was a Church of Scotland minister and inventor.

Patrick Bell (12 May 1799 – 22 April 1869) was a Church of Scotland minister and inventor. ==Biography== Born in the rural parish of Auchterhouse in Angus, Scotland, into a farming family, Bell chose to study divinity at the University of St Andrews. He was Carmyllie parish minister from 1843 until his death. ==The Reaping Machine== Bell invented the reaping machine while working on his father's farm. His interest in mechanics led him to work on a horse powered mechanical reaper for speeding up the harvest. In 1828 his machine was used with success on his father's farm and others in the district. This reaping machine used a revolving 12 vane reel to pull the crop over the cutting knife, that was made from triangular reciprocating blades over fixed triangular blades. A canvas conveyor moved the grain and stalks to the side in a windrow. This machine was pushed by livestock and ran on 2 wheels. Bell never sought a patent for his reaping machine. Being a man of God, he believed his invention should benefit all mankind. Therefore, he never made any financial gain from its success throughout the world. On May 3, 1831, a patent was issued in the United States to William Manning for the reaper of essentially the same design. On December 31, 1833, a similar cutter patent was issued to Obed Hussey. A vibrating cutter was patented by Cyrus McCormick on June 21, 1834. McCormick with his brothers mass-produced the machines and developed what became the International Harvester Company. ==References== ==External links== http://www.auchterhouse.com/history/pbell.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20081006144523/http://www.angus.gov.uk/history/features/people/patrickbell.htm http://www.cornways.de/hi_combine.html http://nms.scran.ac.uk/database/record.php?scache=5cryr2dbs0&searchdb=scran&usi=000-100-044-206-C

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