John Deere was an American inventor. In 1837, he was the first to invent a steel plow that efficiently turned the hard and heavy prairie soil into loose soil ready for planting. Deere became one of the world's greatest plow makers.

In 1804, John Deere came into this world in Rutland, Vermont. One of his first jobs as a teenager was a blacksmith's apprentice. By being a apprentice, he learned the blacksmith trade and soon opened his own shop in Illinois. At this time, the farmers became unhappy with their plows because the prairie sod stuck to them.

After Deere heard about the trouble of the farmers, he designed a new hard, smooth plow frame out of steel. The plow worked like he wanted it to because the soil didn't stick to the plow. During the next ten years Deere and a partner, Leonard Andruss, produced plows. Evetually, he sold his share of the business to his partner and started his own company. His new company was called Deere and Company and soon became one of the largest companies in the United States.