Fairbanks, Thaddeus (1796-1886), an American inventor, made the first platform scale, which he patented in 1831. The scale replaced the large hooks and lifting apparatus necessary for weighing heavy loads. Fairbanks also patented many other inventions, including a cast-iron plow, a cast-iron stove, and a machine for removing fiber from stalks of hemp.
Fairbanks was born on Jan. 17, 1796, in Brimfield, Massachusetts. He suffered from poor health as a boy, and had little formal education. In 1823, Thaddeus and his brother Erastus established a small iron foundry in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, for the manufacture of cast-iron plows and stoves. Thaddeus and Erastus joined with their brother Joseph in the mid-1830’s to form E. and T. Fairbanks and Company. This company, which manufactured and sold scales of Thaddeus’s design, remained in business until 1916, when it was purchased by another firm. Thaddeus’s brother Erastus was elected governor of Vermont in 1852 and 1860. Thaddeus died on April 12, 1886.
