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First lawn mower
The first lawn mower is invented in England by an engineer named Edwin Budding. He recieved the idea after observing a machine in a cloth mill which used a bladed reel to trim cloth and make a smooth finish afterwards. Later, he made a partnership with another engineer John Ferrabee. These early mowers were made from cast iron. -
Other companies start making mowers
Budding and Ferrabee allow other companies to build copies of their mower under licence. One of these companies were the Ransomes of Ipswich and it is now of the largest manufacturer of lawn care equipment in the world. -
Introduction of Silens Messor
Other companies start introducing own versions of lawn mowers. Thomas Green and Son of leeds introduce a mower called the Silens Messor (silent cutter) which used a chain to transmit power. These were much lighter and quieter compared to the gear driven machines. -
Motorised mowers
Motorised mowers are introduced which had lightweight petrol engines and small steam power units. -
Petrol engined mower
Ransomes and a few other companies introduce a petrol engined mower, which was leading the market until World War 1. These mowers have the advantage over electric mowers because of greater power and the ability to be used for longer distances. -
ATCO lawn mower
The lawn mower named Atco (Atlas Chain Company) was launched by Charles H Pugh Ltd and became a huge success. -
Victa lawn mower
The first victa mowers were made in Sydeny by a local resident. A company was opened in 1953 because it was a successful project. Two of these mowers from the years 1958 and 1968 are displayed in the National Museum of Australia. -
Plastic components
Introduction of plastic components started reducing costs but the traditional designs remained similar. The first Flymo 'hover' mowers were also invented following this by Karl Dahlman. He got the idea from a hovercraft machine.
