Andrew Meikle

Andrew Meikle (* 1719, † November 27, 1811 ) was a Scottish mechanic, who is known as the inventor of the threshing machine.

He worked as a millwright at the Houston Mill in East Linton, East Lothian. In 1750, he invented a Yaw ( already invented in 1745 by Edmund Lee). To 1772, he improved the windmill. The fabric he replaced by spring blind wings ( spring sail ), which could be operated with a rod and controlled quickly and safely in a storm.

1786, he invented the threshing machine. It consisted essentially of a drum on the four blow bars sat ( Engl Patent No 1645 of 9 April 1788). Some also claim that he would have improved an earlier draft by Michael Menzies († 1766 ) from 1734. It is regarded as a key development for the British Agricultural Revolution in the late 18th century.

He inspired John Rennie Senior to become civil engineers.

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