Thaddeus Fairbanks

Thaddeus Fairbanks
Fairbanks, circa 1880
Born(1796-01-16)January 16, 1796
DiedApril 12, 1886(1886-04-12) (aged 90)
Resting placeMount Pleasant Cemetery, St. Johnsbury, Vermont
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Inventor
Businessman
EmployerE. & T. Fairbanks
Known forInventor of the Fairbanks scale
SpouseLucy Peck Barker (m. 1820–1866, her death)
Children2 (including Charlotte Fairbanks)
RelativesErastus Fairbanks (brother)
Ephraim Paddock (uncle)
Horace Fairbanks (nephew)
Franklin Fairbanks (nephew)
Fairbanks scale and log table - Bureau of Mines Weigh Station, Boulder City, Nevada
Fairbanks platform and table scales

Thaddeus Fairbanks (January 17, 1796 – April 12, 1886) was an American businessman, mechanic, and engineer. He invented furnaces, cooking stoves, cast iron steel plows, and other metal items related to farming. He invented and manufactured the first platform scale, the Fairbanks scale, that allowed the accurate weighing of large objects. His scales revolutionized farming and manufacturing and were sold worldwide, and he received numerous honors and awards for his development of the technology. Fairbanks was also a philanthropist, and was a co-founder of the St. Johnsbury Academy.