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Ohio inventions and firsts · Invention · 1908

Electric upright vacuum cleaner

Asthmatic janitor James Murray Spangler built an electric suction sweeper in 1908 from a fan motor, soap box and broom handle; William 'Boss' Hoover and son Herbert bought the patent and sold 372 Model O machines in 1908.

At a glance

Year
1908
By
James Murray Spangler, W. H. Hoover
Company
Hoover Company
Place
North Canton, Stark County ZIP 44720 · North Canton · Stark County
Patent
US 889,823 US 889,823 (Spangler, 'Electric carpet sweeper and cleaner', filed 1907, granted 1908)

The story

Early vacuum cleaners were big machines pulled to the house or hauled on a cart. James Murray Spangler, an asthmatic janitor in North Canton, Ohio, found that dust from his sweeping made him sick. He wanted something he could push by hand.

In 1908 he built a vacuum from a fan motor mounted on a carpet sweeper, with a soap box and a broom handle. He patented it, and in the same year William Henry Hoover bought the patent for $36,000 and set up the Electric Suction Sweeper Company.

The machine got better. In 1926 Hoover developed the beater bar, which the company says made it 101 percent more efficient. The company later made war goods in World War II.

The Hoover Historical Center opened in 1978 at the founder's former home on the Walsh University campus in North Canton, with vacuums, company items and wartime products. Hoover's North American business is now owned by Techtronic Industries (bought 2007 for $107 million) and its European business by Haier's Candy Group (2018).

Timeline

  • 1908: Spangler builds an electric suction sweeper in North Canton; Hoover buys the patent for $36,000. (North Canton, OH) source
  • 1926: Hoover develops the beater bar mechanism. (North Canton, OH) source
  • 1978: The Hoover Historical Center opens at the founder's former home. (North Canton, OH) source
  • 2007: Techtronic Industries buys the North American operations for $107 million. source
  • 2018: Haier's Candy Group acquires the European operations. source

What it changed

  • The beater bar made cleaning 101 percent more efficient, per the company's account.
  • William Hoover paid $36,000 for the patent in 1908.

Why it matters

Mass-produced household vacuum.

Worth knowing

Vacuum cleaners existed before Spangler's, which has not been checked. His patent covers an early upright with a brush and dust bag.

Places in Ohio to see

Further reading

Sources

Confidence. High: the main facts were confirmed in sources we opened.