John Albert Burr
If you have a manual push mower today, there is a good chance that its design borrows components from the rotary blade lawn mower that was created by Black American inventor John Albert Burr in the 19th century.
John Albert Burr received a patent for his new and improved rotary blade lawn mower on May 9, 1899. Burr came up with the idea for a lawn mower that had traction wheels and a rotating blade that was made specifically to avoid becoming clogged up with grass clippings.
In addition, John Albert Burr made it feasible for lawn mowers to go closer to the borders of buildings and walls by improving the design of lawn mowers. You have the ability to examine United States Patent 624,749 that was awarded to John Albert Burr.
Life of John Albert Burr
John Albert Burr, who was born in the state of Maryland in 1848, was a youngster at the time of the American Civil War. His parents were slaves who were eventually set free, and it’s possible that he too was a slave up to the age of emancipation, which occurred when he was 17 years old. However, he did not avoid manual labor entirely because, when he was a teenager, he worked in the fields as a laborer.
However, others took notice of his abilities, and affluent Black activists made it possible for him to enroll in engineering programs at a prestigious private institution. He made a career by repairing and maintaining various machines and farm equipment using the mechanical talents he had acquired over the years. He relocated to Chicago and started working in the steel industry there. In 1898, when he submitted his application for a patent on the rotary mower, he was a resident of Agawam, Massachusetts.
The Rotary Lawn Mower
“The object of my invention is to provide a casing which wholly encloses the operating gearing so as to prevent it from becoming choked by the grass or clogged by obstructions of any kind,” reads the patent application.
The design of John Albert Burr’s rotational lawn mower helps alleviate the annoying jams of clippings that are the scourge of manual lawn mowers. It was also more maneuverable, and it could be used to go closer to objects like buildings and posts so that it could clip them more precisely. His invention graphic clearly illustrates a concept that is still used for manual rotary mowers today and is fairly common.
There were still several years before powered lawnmowers became available for residential usage. A lot of people are going back to using manual rotary mowers like the one that Burr designed since the lawns in many modern communities are getting smaller.
Burr never stopped looking for ways to enhance his invention and patent it. In addition to this, he invented machines that could shred, sieve, and spread the grass clippings. It’s possible that his legacy will live on in the form of today’s mulching power mowers, which return nutrients to the lawn rather than bagging them for compost or disposal.
His innovations not only reduced the amount of work needed, but they were also beneficial to the grass. He was awarded more than 30 patents in the United States for lawn care and agricultural innovations.
John Albert Burr Later Life
Burr was able to bask in the glory of his achievements. He obtained royalties for his innovations, which is in contrast to the situation of many other innovators, who either never see their concepts commercialized or quickly lose any benefits they may have had. He loved giving lectures and going on trips. He had a long and healthy life, passing away in 1926 from influenza at the age of 78.
Also Read: Black History: How Did Black History Month Begin?
