Sowing seeds for the agricultural revolution: Jethro Tull (1674-1741).(Founders)

Jethro Tull, a name commonly associated with rock music rather than the agriculture equipment industry, transformed farming practices from subsistence to industrial in the 17th century by inventing a seed drill with a rotating mechanism that helped found contemporary farming.

Tull was born in Basildon, Berkshire, England in 1674. As a young man, he studied law at Oxford and was admitted to the bar in 1699. Financial hardships, however, forced him to return to the family farm. Tull resumed farming with his father, never to return to law. After a short period of farming,…