Letter: Let’s create a legacy to honour Harry Ferguson - the father of the modern tractor
A letter from Stevan Patterson:
Sixty-four years ago - on October 25, 1960 – we lost one of Northern Ireland’s and the world's greatest innovators, industrialists and businessmen, Henry George Ferguson (1884-1960).
Harry Ferguson as he is more commonly known died at his home on Stow-On-The Wold, Gloucestershire, England. His Ferguson System of farm mechanisation changed the tractor and farming for the better, helping to fight world poverty and hunger and saving countless millions of lives.
Since November 1957, along with Canadian Daniel Massey (1798-1856) who formed the Massey Implement company in 1847, his name has proudly been displayed on one of the world’s best-selling and best known tractor brands, Massey Ferguson, in recognition of his many achievements.
Today the Ferguson System of three-point hydraulic linkage is a standard fitment in the modern tractor and this is why Harry Ferguson is best remembered as the father of the modern tractor.
With such a legacy to honour, the opportunity for tourism a dedicated Northern Ireland museum will bring is clear - and as next year will mark the centenary of the Ferguson System Master Patent there is no better time than now to get it done.
Later this year, on November 4, will also mark the 140th anniversary of his birth - and what a birthday celebration it would be if the founding of a Harry Ferguson Museum of Innovation could finally be achieved.
Stevan Patterson, Castlederg