Power vacuum cleanerIn 1902, (?) the first power-driven vacuum cleaner was built by Hubert Cecil Booth (1871-1955) of London, England. In 1901, Booth, devised a filter bag system that made commercial vacuum cleaners practical. A vacuum cleaner pump driven by a petrol or electric motor, sucked air through fabric which caught the dust. Though effective, Booth's machines were so bulky, they required two workers to operate them, one to maneuver the refrigerator-sized vacuum chamber and another to wield the suction hose. An early use of Booth's machine was to clean the great blue coronation carpet under the throne at Westminster Abbey for the coronation of Edward VII. (30 Aug 1901, U.K. patent number 17,433) |