Ferguson, Harry (1884-1960), was an Irish engineer and inventor. He developed one of the first successful farm tractors and later went into partnership with the American businessman Henry Ford.
Henry George Ferguson was born on Nov. 4, 1884, in Dromore, County Down, Ireland. He left school at 14 to work at his father’s farm. He soon became a mechanic at his brother’s garage. In 1909, he designed and built a monoplane, in which he became the first person in Ireland to fly. He started his own garage in Belfast in 1911. In 1920, he devised a revolutionary new tractor, with mounted plows that were integrally linked. He later developed a hydraulic system that controlled the working depths of the implements connected to the tractor. During the 1920’s and 1930’s, Ferguson formed several partnerships that resulted in the production of his tractors in the United States and the United Kingdom, including one with the Ford Motor Company. Ferguson retired from his businesses in 1954. He died on Oct. 25, 1960.
