Joseph Farwell Glidden was an American businessman and farmer. He was the inventor of the modern barbed wire. In 1898, he donated land for the Northern Illinois State Normal School in DeKalb, Illinois, which was renamed as Northern Illinois University in 1957.
An early handmade specimen of Glidden's "The Winner" on display in the "Fencing Frontiers" exhibit at the Ellwood House Museum in DeKalb, Illinois
Patent drawing for Joseph F. Glidden's Improvement to barbed wire
Barbed wire, also known as barb wire, is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strands. Its primary use is the construction of inexpensive fences, and it is also used as a security measure atop walls surrounding property. As a wire obstacle, it is a major feature of the fortifications in trench warfare.
Close-up of a barbed wire
Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire
An early handmade specimen of Glidden's "The Winner" on display at the Barbed Wire History Museum in DeKalb, Illinois
A rangeland fence which has caught a tumbleweed