William Wallace Marsh References William Wallace Marsh American inventor and manufacturer Ask Anything Homework Help Written by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them. The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica Britannica AI Ask Anything Learn about this topic in these articles: reaperMarsh patented the forerunner of the first successful harvester in 1858. Their machine swept the cut grain onto a canvas conveyor that carried it to a box for binding, but it had no mechanical binding device. See also binder; combine. Read MoreMarsh patented the forerunner of the first successful harvester in 1858. Their machine swept the cut grain onto a canvas conveyor that carried it to a box for binding, but it had no mechanical binding device. See also binder; combine. Read More