John Deere was an American blacksmith

Blacksmith

A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...

 and manufacturer who founded Deere & Company

John Deere

John Deere was an American blacksmith and manufacturer who founded Deere & Company, one of the largest and leading agricultural and construction equipment manufacturers in the world...

, one of the largest and leading agricultural and construction equipment manufacturers in the world. Born in Rutland, Vermont

Rutland (town), Vermont

Rutland is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 4,054 at the 2010 census. Rutland completely surrounds the city of Rutland, which is incorporated separately from the town of Rutland.-History:...

, Deere moved to Illinois and invented the first commercially successful steel plow in 1837.
After a meager education, he was apprenticed in 1821 at age 17, to Captain Benjamin Lawrence, a prosperous Middlebury blacksmith, and entered the trade for himself in 1825.

He married in 1827, and fathered nine children.