Daniel Best (March 20, 1838 – August 22, 1923) was an American adventurer, businessman, farmer, and inventor known for pioneering agriculture machinery and heavy machinery.

Early years

In 1839, Best's father, John, moved the family to

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, where he built a

saw mill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

to cut lumber for the local pioneers. Daniel Best spent the first nine years of his life here, before the family moved again in 1847 to

Lee County, Iowa Lee County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,555. The county seats are Fort Madison and Keokuk. Lee County is part of the Fort Madison–Keokuk, IA- IL- MO Micropolitan ...

, where they took up farming and raised stock. In 1859, Daniel, following his brother, joined a

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heading west to Fort Walla Walla, Washington, where he was employed as an ox-tender and sharpshooter.

Life in the West

In Washington, Daniel was involved in gold mining, followed by working in sawmills and eventually building his own sawmill. While working in his sawmill, he lost the first three fingers of his left hand, which he later said made him begin to "use his head". He then moved to Sutter County, California to work on the ranch owned by his brother Henry Best, where he began inventing machines.

Inventions

Over a period of 43 years, Best received 41 patents, including an improved

washing machine A washing machine (laundry machine, clothes washer, washer, or simply wash) is a home appliance used to wash laundry. The term is mostly applied to machines that use water as opposed to dry cleaning (which uses alternative cleaning fluids and ...

and combine harvesters. His first invention, patented April 25, 1871, was a portable grain cleaner and separator. Farmers had previously had to haul their grain into town to have it cleaned and separated, but the cleaner and separator could now be brought to the grain. The machine won first prize at the California State Fair in 1871. While continuing to produce grain cleaners, Daniel began working on a single machine that could combine grain harvesting, threshing, and cleaning. He sold his first horse-powered combined harvester in 1885, using the money from sales of this machine to invest in work on an improved design for a traction engine.

Traction engine

Best saw the need for an improved traction engine (now also known as a steam tractor) to pull his combine harvesters. He first purchased the rights to build a steam traction engine from Remington of

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in 1888, before making improvements to the design. Around 1891, Best began to experiment with

gas engines A gas engine is an internal combustion engine that runs on a gaseous fuel, such as coal gas, producer gas, biogas, landfill gas or natural gas. In the United Kingdom, the term is unambiguous. In the United States, due to the widespread use of ...

to replace the

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be ...

s on his tractors. He developed his first gas-powered tractor in 1896. To prove its superiority, he staged a tug of war between his steam tractor and his new gas-powered engine, demonstrating that the gas-powered engine could pull the steam tractor around the block. Best's traction engines soon received orders internationally. At this time, Daniel was selling $400,000 worth of machinery per year.

Family and later life

Daniel Best married Meta Johanna Steinkamp in Marysville, Yuba County, California, on August 29, 1872. They had nine children, and moved to San Leandro in 1886, where their home stands today as a local landmark. Best retired in 1908, aged 70. His son, Clarence Leo Best, took over the tractor company. Best died in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the ...

on August 22, 1923, and was interred at Evergreen Cemetery.

References

* Backus, R. (2004)
''100 Years on Track''
Retrieved from Gas Engine Magazine archive

Oakland Museum of California * Galloway, Brent D. (1968). ''Daniel Best, a Biography''. Galloway.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Best, Daniel 1838 births 1923 deaths American inventors Burials at Evergreen Cemetery (Oakland, California) Businesspeople from California Caterpillar Inc. people People from Lee County, Iowa People from Sutter County, California People from Tuscarawas County, Ohio