James Murray Spangler perfected what we call the vacuum cleaner for household use, combining Booth’s invention with the practicality of a small electric motor mounted on two wheels, a broom handle, and a dust bag; his business partner was Hoover. The vacuum cleaner concept was invented between 1865 and 1876 in the United States. The first device appears to have been developed by a Chicago inventor (attached to a horse-drawn carriage, with a manually operated pump). Around 1901, Hubert Cecil Booth was amazed that a device that blew air away dust and dirt was used to clean trains. He designed a more maneuverable device that could suck up dust. He presented his invention in England, but it was not a success. The other inventor was the American James Murray Spangler, a doorman from Canton, Ohio. Using a fan, a box, and a pillow, he built a vacuum cleaner. Along with suction, the device also utilized a rotating brush. He patented the invention in 1908 and sold it to his cousin’s company, the Hoover Harness and Leather Goods Factory. In the United States, Hoover remains a leading manufacturer of household appliances, and the term “Hoover” is so closely associated with the vacuum cleaner that it has become synonymous with it. In current usage, “doing the hoovering” is the term used for the process of vacuuming. For many years, the vacuum cleaner remained a luxury item, but after World War II, its popularity increased considerably.
