Jethro Tull, an agricultural writer and inventor, was born in Basildon, Berkshire. He studied at Oxford University and trained as a barrister, but went to work on his father's farm. In 1701, he invented the machine drill, an agricultural tool which planted seeds in rows. This was one of the first of a number of tools which mechanised farming. Tull also invented a horse-drawn hoe. His most famous book, 'Horse-Hoeing Husbandry' was published in 1731. His ideas were not initially accepted but eventually became widely used.
