Eyth, Max

Max Eyth, in fullEduard Friedrich Maximilian von Eyth, (born May 6, 1836, Kirchheim unter Teck, Württemberg—died Aug. 25, 1906, Ulm, Ger.), engineer, inventor, and a pioneer in the mechanization of agriculture. His expert knowledge of machinery and wide travels on behalf of the steam-traction engineer John Fowler furthered the introduction of machinery for plowing, irrigation, earth moving, and canalboat towing. After studying engineering in Stuttgart, Eyth went to Paris to pursue his interest in the gas engine that had been developed by Étienne Lenoir. Later, in England, he began his work as a representative of Fowler’s Steam-Plough Works.

Eyth founded the German Agricultural Society in 1884. He also wrote a play and novels based on his engineering and travel experiences. In his writings, he displayed an unusually balanced view, for his times, of the human costs of technological progress.