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Uncovering the Origins of the First Combine Harvester: Debunking Lukashenko's Claims
In 1826, a machine capable of cutting grains was invented in Scotland.
In a patriotic claim during a major agricultural festival, Alexander Lukashenko asserted that European agricultural education began in the Mogilev region, Belarus and that the world’s first prototype of a combine harvester was also created there. A fact-checking investigation by the Weekly Top Fake team found discrepancies between Lukashenko's narrative and the historical record.
Speaking at the regional “Dazhynki” celebration in Klimovichi, Belarus on November 16, 2024, Lukashenko touted the achievements of Mogilev, stating: “The first agricultural university in Europe was the Hory-Horets Agricultural School, which opened its doors in 1840. Interestingly, that’s where the world's first prototype of a grain harvester was created.”
The video of his speech was later published by Belarus’ state-run news agency BelTA.
However, at least three universities in Europe were established before the Hory-Horets Agricultural School. For instance, the National Institute of Agronomy in Paris was founded in 1828 and is now part of AgroParisTech.
The Warsaw University of Life Sciences, established in 1816, is the oldest agricultural university in Poland. Even earlier, in 1804, an agricultural academy was opened in the German village of Mögling, founded by agronomist Albrecht Daniel Thaer. This academy later became a royal institution and operated until 1861.
Lukashenko’s claim about the prototype of the combine harvester was also incorrect. The one he mentioned was the first in the Russian Empire, not the world. The idea actually originated from Belarusian graduate Andrei Vlasenko of the Hory-Horets Agricultural School. The device he invented was capable of cutting and threshing grains.
In 1868, the young agronomist applied for a patent and received it a year later, but the invention never reached industrial production due to the complexity of the construction process for factories.
The earliest attempts to create a combine harvester occurred four decades before Vlasenko's invention. In 1826, a machine capable of cutting grains was invented in Scotland. The first patented model appeared a decade later in the U.S., which could cut, thresh, and winnow.
