Deere & Company

AgriculturalFounded 1837- HQ today: Moline, Illinois

Founders

Who Founded John Deere?

John Deere · Founded 1837 · HQ today: Moline, Illinois

Who founded John Deere?

John Deere was founded by John Deere in 1837 in Grand Detour, United States. It is now led by John C. May.

Founders: John Deere
Founded: 1837
Headquarters: Moline, Illinois
Number of founders: 1
Current CEO: John C. May (since 2019)

Where was John Deere founded?: John Deere was founded in Grand Detour, United States in 1837. wikidata.org
When was John Deere founded?: John Deere was founded in 1837.
Who started John Deere?: John Deere was founded by John Deere.
How old is John Deere?: John Deere is 189 years old as of 2026.

Founding Story

In 1837, blacksmith John Deere, who had moved from Vermont to Grand Detour, Illinois, heard local farmers complain that sticky prairie soil clung to their cast-iron plows. Using polished steel, reportedly from a broken saw blade, he shaped a plow that shed soil cleanly. Demand grew quickly, and in 1848 he moved the business to Moline on the Mississippi River to scale production.

John Deere

Co-founder 1837

Background

Deere apprenticed as a blacksmith in Vermont and worked there for about a decade before heading west. That hands-on metalworking experience, and his habit of listening to customers' field problems, shaped the steel plow and the company's lasting focus on durable, practical equipment.

Role at Deere & Company

John Deere (1804-1886) was a Vermont-born blacksmith who moved to Grand Detour, Illinois, in 1836. In 1837 he built a polished steel plow that scoured itself clean in sticky prairie soil, solving a problem that slowed Midwest farmers using cast-iron plows. He moved the business to Moline in 1848, emphasized consistent quality, and handed day-to-day leadership to his son Charles, who incorporated Deere & Company in 1868 and built its branch and dealer system.

Education: Middlebury College. John Deere was born in 1804.

Deere & Company: CEO & Leadership History

Full timeline →

John C. May

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

2019 – Present

May's contribution is making Deere's technology strategy commercially central instead of treating precision agriculture as an accessory to machines. His background in agricultural solutions and information technology helps explain why Deere under his leadership emphasizes Operations Center, machine connectivity, See & Spray, autonomous field work, and lifecycle support. He also has had to prove that Deere can preserve margins and dealer discipline when farm income, rates, tariffs, and inventories pressure new-equipment sales.

Samuel R. Allen

Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

2009 – 2019

Allen's contribution was to internationalize and diversify Deere while preserving the company's premium equipment brand and dealer economics. His background across construction, forestry, power systems, agricultural operations, intelligent mobile equipment, human resources, credit, and global regions gave him a broad operating view of Deere's portfolio. By the end of his CEO period, Deere had both a larger construction platform through Wirtgen and a stronger technology base through deals such as Blue River Technology.

Robert W. Lane

Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

2000 – 2009

Lane's contribution was managerial modernization. He helped Deere move from a proud equipment maker with uneven cyclicality toward a more disciplined global manufacturer that measured returns, working capital, and customer support more tightly. That mattered for later leaders because precision agriculture, construction expansion, and financing all require strong capital discipline: expensive machines, dealer inventory, credit exposure, and long service relationships can create value only if the company manages the balance sheet and operating system carefully.

Hans W. Becherer

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

1989 – 2000

Deere reached record sales in the late 1990s. Robert Lane succeeded him in 2000.

Compare Deere & Company Leadership With Competitors

Deere & Company vs Caterpillar Inc. Leadership →Overview

Keep researching John Deere

Who Founded John Deere? FAQ

Who founded John Deere and in what year was the company established?

Deere & Company was founded in 1837 by American blacksmith and inventor John Deere in Grand Detour, Illinois (later relocating to Moline, Illinois, in 1848).

What was John Deere's major invention of the self-scouring steel plow in 1837?

In 1837, observing that Midwestern farmers were struggling with heavy, sticky prairie soil that continually gummed up traditional cast-iron plows, blacksmith John Deere took a broken Scottish steel sawmill blade, shaped it into a plowshare, and polished it mirror-smooth, creating the world's first commercially successful self-scouring steel plow.

Why did John Deere relocate his manufacturing operations to Moline, Illinois, in 1848?

In 1848, Deere relocated to Moline, Illinois, along the Mississippi River, recognizing the vital strategic advantages of Mississippi River water-power for factory machinery and riverboat shipping corridors to distribute plows across the expanding American frontier.

What was John Deere's famous founding business motto on product quality?

John Deere established the enduring corporate motto: 'I will never put my name on a product that does not have in it the best that is in me.' This principle established John Deere's multi-generational reputation for uncompromising build quality.

Who was Charles Deere and how did he build the modern enterprise as the founder's son?

Charles Deere (son of John Deere) took over leadership in 1858 and served as executive leader for nearly 50 years. A effective commercial strategist, Charles created John Deere's well-known independent dealer branch house network, introduced cultivators and seed drills, and incorporated Deere & Company in 1868.

When did John Deere introduce the well-known leaping deer trademark logo?

John Deere registered its first official trademark featuring a deer leaping over a log in 1876. Over nearly 150 years, the logo has been subtly modernized, but the leaping deer remains the oldest continuously used corporate trademark among Fortune 500 companies.

What was the landmark acquisition of the Waterloo Boy tractor in 1918?

In March 1918, Deere & Company acquired the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company in Waterloo, Iowa, for $2.1 million. The Waterloo Boy kerosene tractor launched John Deere into the tractor industry, laying the foundation for the Waterloo Works tractor capital of the world.

How is the founding heritage of John Deere preserved today?

John Deere's heritage is preserved at the John Deere Historic Site in Grand Detour, Illinois, the John Deere Pavilion in downtown Moline, and the John Deere Tractor & Engine Museum in Waterloo, Iowa.

Who founded John Deere?

It was founded by the legendary blacksmith John Deere. However, the company became a massive corporate empire under his son, Charles Deere. Taking over in 1858, Charles was a brilliant businessman. He established incredibly sophisticated, massive regional branch houses across the United States to handle distribution, fundamentally inventing the modern independent dealer network.

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