Great composers create works that amaze with their harmony and beauty of intonation, directors shoot magnificent films, artists paint canvases of incredible cultural and historical value. But do we so enthusiastically admire those who invented barbed wire? No, but this invention influenced the course of history, contributing to the success of a single military campaign.
So, barbed wire owes its appearance to the enterprising farmer Henry Rose from Illinois, who in 1873 invented a fence for livestock. The design of this fence used special planks with spikes, guaranteeing higher restraining properties. That same year, Henry patented his invention and presented it at an agricultural exhibition in DeKalb. Fortunately, not only farmers visited that exhibition.
Joseph F. Glidden, with his friends and associates Jacob Heish and Isaac Ellwood, was also present at this event. The inventors became interested in Henry Rose's fence and within a couple of months they developed the first prototypes of barbed wire https://egoza.com/catalog/barbed-wire. True, each of the inventors went his own way, which allowed Ellwood and Glidden to present to the public two inventions that were similar in functionality, but completely different in quality - barbed wire.
It turned out that Glidden's barbed wire has a more reliable design, implemented through the use of special spikes placed on a twisted steel base. The principle of fixing the spikes on the wire was innovative. Each tenon was fixed to the base with another layer of wire wound at the junction of the tenon and the base. To invent barbed wire, Glidden used the earlier developments of the French inventor Louis Giannin, however, it was Glidden who was able to bring his ideas and developments to their logical conclusion.
Realizing the commercial potential of barbed wire, Glidden and Isaac Ellwood opened a joint venture, I.L. Ellwood Manufacturing Company, which successfully begins selling barbed wire in the United States. Between 1875 and 1900, wire production volumes increased from 270 to 150,000 tons.
In conclusion of this historical information, I would like to emphasize that it was Joseph F. Glidden who is considered the creator of barbed wire.