who invented barbed wire

The invention of barbed wire is primarily credited to Joseph Farwell Glidden, an American inventor who created the first commercially successful design. Glidden patented his improved version of barbed wire on November 24, 1874. His design involved placing barbs along a wire and then twisting another wire around it to hold the barbs in place, which he called "The Winner." This design was durable, easy to manufacture, and became widely used for fencing in the American West. Glidden, along with Isaac L. Ellwood, formed the Barb Fence Company to produce this wire, which dramatically changed farming and livestock management on the Great Plains. Although earlier versions and patents existed, including the first patent issued in 1867 to Lucien B. Smith and a patent for a sharp spike fence by Henry M. Rose in 1873, Glidden's design was the most successful and influential commercially.