Martin Antonenko
A Fixture
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2008
- Messages
- 8,994
Joseph Glidden's Invention...
On October 27, 1874, the American Joeseph Glidden applied for a patent in Clarendon (New York State) for a new invention that would make him one of the richest men in the United States.
The village teacher Glidden...
...had been thinking about a problem in the living room at home that others were already trying to solve.
Until now, the cattle barons and ranchers in the North American West, whose animals were the basis for the nutrition of the rapidly growing population after the Civil War, simply let their sometimes huge herds graze freely - usually only supervised by a pair of cowboys...:
However, the growing pressure to settle in the (not so) "wild" West by city dwellers from the East and new immigrants, but especially the rapidly progressing railway construction to open up the country, made it necessary to fence off the pastures.
But with what?
Wooden fences were expensive, generally could not withstand the pressure of many cattle and often had to be replaced due to weathering.
In addition: Wood was rare in the West and had to be transported over long distances, which made the fence more expensive again.
A number of inventors saw the solution to the problem in wire, which could now be produced industrially in large quantities - and thus inexpensively.
For example, inspired by spurs worn by riders, a certain William D. Hunt patented wires in 1867 on which spur wheels were threaded at regular intervals...:
Another named Michael Kelly patented wires with nails driven into them in 1868...:
However, both inventions had the disadvantage of not inflicting enough pain on robust animals such as cattle to prevent them from breaching the fence.
With his invention, Joseph Glidden solved the problem once and for all!
Here is the first page of his patent:
Glidden's product, called "Barbed Wire", had the advantage over the ideas of its competitors that it could be manufactured in one operation - there was no need to add tail wheels or nails afterwards!
In Glidden's wire, two guy wires were stranded (twisted) together and spikes were simultaneously inserted at regular intervals by wrapping a pointed wire around one of the two wires and then cutting it at an angle. The two twisted tension wires fixed the sting, which could not turn away under the weight of an animal leaning against it...:
You still needed a few wooden posts, but the cost of fencing a cattle pasture with barbed wire was only one-fifth of what a wooden fence cost. In addition, the wire, wound into rolls, was easy and space-saving to transport...
... rusted but didn't rot!
The barbed wire was invented!
As early as 1880, a little over six years after the first patent was issued, the length of barbed wire fences erected in the United States was approximately 50,000 miles...:
And when the military later decided to use barbed wire to protect positions and facilities in war and peace, neither Gliden's product itself nor the steady flow of money to his accounts could be stopped...:
It didn't matter who made barbed wire for whom in the world - royalties were due to Mr. Glidden and later his heirs...
On October 27, 1874, the American Joeseph Glidden applied for a patent in Clarendon (New York State) for a new invention that would make him one of the richest men in the United States.
The village teacher Glidden...
...had been thinking about a problem in the living room at home that others were already trying to solve.
Until now, the cattle barons and ranchers in the North American West, whose animals were the basis for the nutrition of the rapidly growing population after the Civil War, simply let their sometimes huge herds graze freely - usually only supervised by a pair of cowboys...:
However, the growing pressure to settle in the (not so) "wild" West by city dwellers from the East and new immigrants, but especially the rapidly progressing railway construction to open up the country, made it necessary to fence off the pastures.
But with what?
Wooden fences were expensive, generally could not withstand the pressure of many cattle and often had to be replaced due to weathering.
In addition: Wood was rare in the West and had to be transported over long distances, which made the fence more expensive again.
A number of inventors saw the solution to the problem in wire, which could now be produced industrially in large quantities - and thus inexpensively.
For example, inspired by spurs worn by riders, a certain William D. Hunt patented wires in 1867 on which spur wheels were threaded at regular intervals...:
Another named Michael Kelly patented wires with nails driven into them in 1868...:
However, both inventions had the disadvantage of not inflicting enough pain on robust animals such as cattle to prevent them from breaching the fence.
With his invention, Joseph Glidden solved the problem once and for all!
Here is the first page of his patent:
Glidden's product, called "Barbed Wire", had the advantage over the ideas of its competitors that it could be manufactured in one operation - there was no need to add tail wheels or nails afterwards!
In Glidden's wire, two guy wires were stranded (twisted) together and spikes were simultaneously inserted at regular intervals by wrapping a pointed wire around one of the two wires and then cutting it at an angle. The two twisted tension wires fixed the sting, which could not turn away under the weight of an animal leaning against it...:
You still needed a few wooden posts, but the cost of fencing a cattle pasture with barbed wire was only one-fifth of what a wooden fence cost. In addition, the wire, wound into rolls, was easy and space-saving to transport...
... rusted but didn't rot!
The barbed wire was invented!
As early as 1880, a little over six years after the first patent was issued, the length of barbed wire fences erected in the United States was approximately 50,000 miles...:
And when the military later decided to use barbed wire to protect positions and facilities in war and peace, neither Gliden's product itself nor the steady flow of money to his accounts could be stopped...:
It didn't matter who made barbed wire for whom in the world - royalties were due to Mr. Glidden and later his heirs...
