Here at White’s tractors, we like to occasionally take a break from the serious stuff of agriculture and farming. It’s good to sometimes think about the lighter things in life.
For example, today it’s common to think of tractors as powerful high-tech devices that are invaluable in our day-to-day work. Did you know though that had you been at the cutting-edge of agriculture in the 19th century, you may well have been using a tractor that was steam-powered?
Now the origin of tractors is one of those things that historians will dispute for hours over a drink or two and also get very hot under the collar about it. For example, in the United States they will regularly claim to have more or less invented the steam tractor in the 1870s but that unfortunately overlooks certain of its precursors.
So, while some American authors will claim that steam tractors made their first appearance in the world in USA around 1870/80, that really ignores the fact that steam powered vehicles were rolling around the countryside in the UK, for example, from around 1850.
For example, today it’s common to think of tractors as powerful high-tech devices that are invaluable in our day-to-day work. Did you know though that had you been at the cutting-edge of agriculture in the 19th century, you may well have been using a tractor that was steam-powered?
Now the origin of tractors is one of those things that historians will dispute for hours over a drink or two and also get very hot under the collar about it. For example, in the United States they will regularly claim to have more or less invented the steam tractor in the 1870s but that unfortunately overlooks certain of its precursors.
So, while some American authors will claim that steam tractors made their first appearance in the world in USA around 1870/80, that really ignores the fact that steam powered vehicles were rolling around the countryside in the UK, for example, from around 1850.
