popular culture The "barbed wire salesman" in Back to the Future Part III is either based on Joseph F. Glidden or John Warne Gates who was a pioneer promoter of barbed wire. He is played by Richard Dysart. See also Joseph F. Glidden House The Barbed Wire Patent Patents – Wire fences References Further reading External links 1813 births 1906 deaths 19th-century American inventors People from DeKalb, Illinois People from Charlestown, New Hampshire People from Clarendon, New York Businesspeople from Illinois Illinois sheriffs Illinois Democrats County board members in Illinois School board members in Illinois Northern Illinois University people 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American businesspeople