Allis-Chalmers
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The struggle to invent a cotton picker cemented the bond between two brothers, then drove them apart
Mack Rust, who outlived his older brother John by 12 years, never abandoned his quest to build a better cotton picker but later struggled to secure financing on his own — something he blamed on John. Continue reading
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‘Seeing a hippopotamus’: Early efforts to invent a cotton-picking machine were met with skepticism
Hundreds of patents were issued for machines to harvest cotton before John and Mack Rust applied for their first in 1928. Promising designs, like the Rusts’, incorporated spindles, prongs, or “fingers.” Unsuccessful ones included those that used pneumatic power or electrostatic charges to remove fiber from cotton bolls. Continue reading