Bell, Patrick (1799–1869), Church of Scotland minister and inventor of agricultural machinery, was born in April 1799 at mid-Leoch, in the parish of Auchterhouse, a few miles north-west of Dundee. He was one of at least two sons of George Bell, a tenant farmer at ...
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Article
Jonathan Brown
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Maker: unknown engraver
Patrick Bell (1799–1869) by unknown engraver, pubd 1868 (after E. Strachan) © National Portrait Gallery, London
Article
Burrell family (per. c. 1800–1929), agricultural machinery manufacturers, came to prominence with three brothers who were partners in a small engineering business at Thetford in Norfolk. These were Joseph Burrell, William Burrell (1766–1832), and James Burrell (1770–1837).
Joseph Burrell (1759–1831) is generally regarded as the founder of the firm, and he was certainly in business on his own account by about 1790, repairing agricultural implements. Within a few years he was beginning to make implements as well. He first attracted notice in 1803 when, at the annual ...
Article
Gordon Goodwin
revised by Douglas Brown
Drummond, Peter Robert (1802–1879), bookseller and agriculturist, was born at Madderty, Perthshire, the son of John Drummond, a small farmer, and his wife, Jean Gow. He was educated in Madderty, and in early life worked as a carpenter. He attained skill as a maker of picture frames, which brought him into the society of picture dealers and allowed him to gain some knowledge of art....
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![Cover Ferguson, Henry George [Harry] (1884–1960)](/cover/searchableMedia/odnb-9780198614128-e-1011642-graphic-1-thumbnail.jpg)
Henry George Ferguson (1884–1960) by A. J. Tanner, 1948 © Science & Society Picture Library; photograph National Portrait Gallery, London
Article
Ferguson, Henry George [Harry] (1884–1960), designer of agricultural machinery, was born on 4 November 1884 at Growell, near Hillsborough in northern Ireland, the third son and fourth of eleven children, three girls and eight boys, of James Ferguson, a hill farmer, and his wife, ...
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Rupert Edward Cecil Lee Guinness, second earl of Iveagh (1874–1967) by Howard Coster, 1931 © National Portrait Gallery, London
Article
R. G. Wilson
Guinness, Rupert Edward Cecil Lee, second earl of Iveagh (1874–1967), brewer and agricultural improver, was born in Berkeley Square, London, on 29 March 1874, the eldest of the three sons of Edward Cecil Guinness (1847–1927), who was created earl of Iveagh in 1919, and his wife, ...
Article
See Guthrie, Frederick
Article
Gordon Goodwin
revised by Jonathan Brown
Howard, James (1821–1889), agriculturist and manufacturer of agricultural implements, was born on 16 October 1821, the eldest son of John Howard, maker of agricultural implements, of Bedford. He was educated at Bedford School, and as a boy he also gained much practical knowledge of agriculture from visiting his grandfather at ...
Article
M. C. Curthoys
Lawson, Charles (1795–1873), seed merchant and agriculturist, was born in Edinburgh on 9 August 1795, the second son of Peter Lawson (d. 1821), seed merchant, who in 1770 founded a successful nursery in Edinburgh, and his first wife, Patricia Grant. He was educated at ...
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Andrew Meikle (1719–1811) by A. Reddock, c. 1790–1800 © National Portrait Gallery, London
Article
Meikle, Andrew (1719–1811), millwright and inventor of the threshing machine, was born on 5 May 1719, probably at Saltoun, Haddingtonshire. He was one of at least two brothers. His father, James Meikle, wright in Nether Keith, Haddingtonshire, working on behalf of Henry Fletcher...
Article
R. B. Prosser
revised by Robert Brown
Menzies [Menzey], Michael (d. 1766), advocate and inventor of agricultural and mining machinery, was probably one of the Menzies of Culter-Allers, Lanarkshire; little is known of his origins, but a younger brother was ‘sheriff-depute’ of Haddingtonshire. Menzies was admitted a member of the ...
Article
Ransome family (per. c. 1785–1875), agricultural machinery manufacturers, came to prominence with Robert Ransome (1753–1830), who was born at Wells, Norfolk, son of Richard Ransome, a schoolmaster there. His grandfather, Richard Ransome, was a miller of North Walsham, Norfolk, and an early Quaker, who suffered frequent imprisonment while on preaching journeys in various parts of ...
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