| Date | Text | |
|---|---|---|
05 Dec 1920
Benjamin Holt |
death Benjamin Holt Died 5 Dec 1920 at age 71 (born 1 Jan 1849). American inventor of the crawler track (1904) in the form of an endless chain tread for his steam traction engine. The Caterpillar name resulted when a man photographing one of Holt's track-laying vehicles viewed the motion of the track as it travelled and said it reminded him of a caterpillar. Holt liked it as a nickname, and began using the name for his crawler track. Some years later, when his company merged with another manufacturer, Caterpillar was first used in the company name. |
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