McCormick family

The McCormick family of Chicago and Virginia is an American family of Scottish and Scots-Irish descent that attained prominence and fortune starting with the invention of the McCormick reaper, a machine that revolutionized agriculture and established the modern grain trade by beginning the mechanization of the harvesting of grain. Through the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company and later, the International Harvester Company and other investments, the McCormicks became one of the wealthiest families in America. The name became ubiquitous in agriculture starting in the 19th century and the press dubbed the McCormicks the "Reaper Kings". Later generations expanded into media and publishing (Tribune Company), finance (William Blair & Company), and real estate (McCormick Estates). Various family members were well known as civic leaders. The family was originally Presbyterian.