Thaddeus Fairbanks was born in Brimfield, Massachusetts back in 1796. In 1815 he moved to St. Johnsbury, Vermont working in a wheelwright’s shop. In 1824 he married Lucy and in 1824 he built an iron foundry.
In 1830 he patented a hemp and flax dressing machine. In the meantime, he invented several types of heating and cooking stoves, cast iron plow and other items. He died in 1886 at 90 and is buried in St. Johnsbury Vermont.
Well now it’s time to come to the rest of the story. Can anyone tell me what he will go down in the history books for, that is before I tell you? Well let’s see other than the inventions I have previously stated his most famous patent was that of the platform scale which allowed the weighing of large objects accurately. For prior to 1830 there was no way of weighing large loads of hemp accurately. Ever hear of the Fairbanks Scales if so now you know the person who invented them. He received 43 patents in his lifetime and the last one was at the tender age of 90 just before his death in 1886.
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