State Historical Society of Iowa

Biography of John Froelich from Iowa Inventors Hall of Fame Pamphlet, 1994

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Courtesy of State Historical Society of Iowa, 1994

Description

This document is a brief biography of John Froelich, who was inducted into the Iowa Inventors Hall of Fame in 1991. Froelich was an American inventor who lived in Froelich, Iowa, a small village in northeast Iowa. He is best known for inventing the first stable gasoline/petrol-powered tractor with forward and reverse gears.

Transcript of John Froelich's Biography from Iowa Inventors Hall of Fame Pamphlet

Source Dependent Questions

  • According to the pamphlet, what made John Froelich worthy of membership in the Iowa Inventors Hall of Fame (IIHF)? How did the authors use their choice of language to emphasize his contributions to agriculture?
  • The IIHF notes Froelich "founded the Waterloo Gasoline Traction Engine Company in 1893. Eventually, this company would become what is today the John Deere Tractor Works." Compare this claim to the Froelich Tractor Museum's account of Froelich and his invention. How historically accurate is the IIHF? Why would the IIHF present Froelich's story in the way that it did?

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