Prolific inventor Robert P. Scott was most likely born somewhere between 1840 to 1850. Little information is known about his early life, but it is believed that he spent most of his time in Cadiz, Ohio because this was his residence when he received many of his patents. Scott’s first recorded patent was on June 19, 1877, for what was referred to as ‘improvement in ice creepers.’ Ice creepers are shoes with spikes built into the soles to make walking in snow and ice easier for the wearer. Scott’s next recorded patent was sixteen years later on June 13, 1893. This patent was for the improving the act of gathering and hulling green peas off their vines. A year later on June 19, 1894, Scott received patent No. 521,273 for a bicycle tire. Despite all these patents, the next one Scott would receive roughly two months later is his most well-known.
On August 7, 1894, Scott received patent, No. 524,223 for the creation of the corn-silking machine. This machine was used to detach the silk-like corn fibers off the corn cob with ease. Scott described his reasoning for inventing the machine as a way to collect the fibers after the corn was being cut. Scott succeeded with his invention and subsequently made production time much quicker and the job easier.
After the corn-silker, Scott continued to receive more patents for various other inventions. In 1895, Scott received patents for four other creations, two for tires, one for cleaning peas, and one for a machine used to pull vines. Scott was awarded two more patents before the end of the 19th century.
On 1900, Scott received three patents, one on May 1st for a green corn husking machine, another on July 10th for a road cart, and the last on October 16th for the pneumatic tire, a creation for which he had already been awarded patents for earlier versions. On June 2, 1908, Scott received his fourteenth patent (No. 889,263) for another pneumatic tire, this time specifically made for automobile tires. On May 10, 1910, Scott gained two patents on the same day, one for a green pea hulling machine and another for a vine hulling machine. From 1911 to 1915, Scott gained five more patents, one for a road, two for tires designs, and two for machines that hulled beans and peas. Scott’s last known patent was patent No. 1,178,756 was award on April 11, 1916 for a roadway. Over the course of his life Robert Scott received a total of twenty-two patents. He died in 1930 in Cadiz, Ohio. He was believed to be around 90 at the time of his death.
