Booth’s vacuum cleaner was a large horse-drawn cart, painted bright red and had several hoses with a suction nozzle that entered homes through windows.
Google is celebrating the 147th birth anniversary of Hubert Cecil Booth, the man who is credited for inventing the vacuum cleaner and the Ferris Wheel, with a Doodle on July 4.
Born in Gloucester, England in 1871, Booth pursued civil and mechanical engineering from the Central Technical College. His tinkering was not limited to household products, as Booth designed factories and suspension bridges in his capacity as a civil engineer.
He founded the British Vacuum Cleaner Engineering Company and was its chairman and managing director. Booth’s vacuum cleaner was a large horse-drawn cart, painted bright red and had several hoses with a suction nozzle that entered homes through windows. The vacuum cleaner was initially powered by an internal combustion engine, but was later replaced with an electric one.
His invention was an instant hit in England and was used to clean the carpets of Westminster Abbey ahead of the coronation of Edward VII.
In a major blunder, Booth was once arrested after his machine sucked up silver dust from coins stored at the Royal Mint. He was soon released.
Booth eventually tried to tap into the domestic market by selling his vacuum cleaners through his company named Goblin. However, he was beaten by William Henry Hoover's rival firm, which went on to become synonymous for the modern-day vacuum cleaner.