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The first vacuum pump was invented by Otto von Guericke. He was the scientist who discovered the vacuuming device. Before this time no one knew that a 'vacuuming device' could actually exist.
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Daniel Hess invented a vacuum cleaner in 1860. The invention was actually called the 'Carpet Sweeper' (not the vacuum cleaner) and like all other sweepers had a rotating brush. This invention was different because it also included a complex bellows mechanism for suction.
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Ives McGaffey created the first hand pumped vacuum cleaner. This invention created suction by turning the hand crank. Cleaning was difficult though, as the person would have to turn the hand crank at the same time as pushing it across the floor.
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Milville Bissell's goal was to help you improve the way you took care of your home. In 1876, Milville Bissell invented the Carpet Sweeper for his wife, Anna Bissell because of her problem with the saw dust embedded in her carpet at her little shop.
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Hubert Cecil Booth invented the first powered (electrically) vacuum machine in 1901. This large device was known as the Puffing Billy, it was driven by horses and parked outside the building it was going to clean.
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James Murray Spangler invented the first portable electric vacuum cleaner in 1908. Although it wasn't the first vacuum cleaner to be invented, it was the first practical vacuum cleaner for home usage. It was the first vacuum to use cloth filter bags and cleaning attachments.
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In 1909 Fred Wardell founded the Eureka Vacuum Cleaner Company. This company was best known for 'The Boss' line of vacuum cleaners, which were heavily promoted in the late 1980s. By 1927 Eureka was selling 1/3 of the vacuum cleaners being produced in the United States.
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The first upright vacuum cleaners are introduced.
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Hoover, Spangler's cousin's husband, invented the 'Hoover Constellation' in 1952. This was a vacuum that floated on it's exhaust and operated like a hovercraft. An unusual achievement by Hoover.
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In 1969, the first self-propelled vacuum cleaners appeared.
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In 1979, Black and Decker market the cordless Dustbuster hand held vacuum cleaner.
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Today, after 150 years of vacuuming innovations; vacuum cleaners come a variety of shapes and sizes.
