Cleaning a dusty carpet, or a remote corner of a room is no big deal, if you have a vacuum cleaner in the house.Ever wondered who to credit for inventing this very handy household appliance?British engineer Hubert Cecil Booth . Today's Google Doodle remembers Booth on his 147th birthday.The idea of a hygenic way to clean dust occurred to Booth while attending a demonstration of American machines in London. He observed that cleaning machines blew or brushed dirt away, making it a messy affair overall. Booth thought of designing a machine that would suck up dust instead.Vacuum cleaners modelled on Booth's design were made commercially available for the first time in 1901.Booth later went on to become the chairman and managing director of the British Vacuum Cleaner and Engineering Co.
British engineer Hubert Cecil Booth, helped to revolutionise the way we clean our homes.
Celebrated in a Google Doodle on the 147th anniversary of his birth, Booth was the first to conceive a device that sucked up dirt instead of blowing it away.
A horse-drawn, petrol-powered machine too large to be used in buildings, his “Puffy Billy” looked little like the technology used on carpets in every household today.
But the way it operated was essentially the same as a modern vacuum cleaner.
Booth’s inspiration was an American inventor who demonstrated a device blowing dust off chairs at a theatre in London in 1901.
Booth later said he realised “if the system could be reversed, and a filter inserted between the suction apparatus and the outside air, whereby the dust would be retained in a receptacle, the real solution of the hygienic removal of dust would be obtained”.
He tested his theory by putting a handkerchief over his mouth and seeing how much dust he could suck up.
He found the technique worked - although what Booth's dining companions thought of his behaviour is less clear - and the Puffing Billy was soon born.
Powered by an internal combustion engine, it used piston pumps and to draw air through flexible pipes fed through a building’s windows.
An electric-powered device soon followed, which Booth used to offer cleaning services to businesses through his British Vacuum Cleaner Company.
Despite drawing noise complaints, the machines received royal seal of approval and were enlisted to clean the carpets of Westminster Abbey before Edward VII’s coronation.
They were also used to clean naval barracks, as well as factories, theatres and shops.
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The vacuum even led to Booth's arrest after one of his inventions inadvertently sucked up silver dust from coins at the Royal Mint. However, he was soon released.
Booth later turned his focus to the domestic market after founding Goblin, a company which manufactured his vacuum cleaners for sale.
However, it was William Henry Hoover's rival firm which would come to dominate that market and become synonymous with the modern-day vacuum.
GOOGLE Doodles are famous for celebrating big world events, anniversaries and pioneers.
And today it's Hubert Cecil Booth's turn in the spotlight. Here's what you need to know about the English engineer.
Hubert Cecil Booth is an English engineer who invented one of the first versions of the vacuum cleaner
Why is Hubert Cecil Booth being celebrated?
Born in Gloucester in 1871, Hubert Cecil Booth was an engineer best known for inventing one of the first powered vacuum cleaners.
Before his version, cleaning machines just blew or brushed dirt away, instead of sucking it up.
His first petrol-powered, horse-drawn vacuum cleaner was too bulky to be brought into the building but it was built on the same principles of modern ones.
Booth also designed Ferris wheels, suspension bridges and factories
His first petrol-powered, horse-drawn vacuum cleaner was too bulky to be brought into homes
What is a Google Doodle?
In 1998, the search engine founders Larry and Sergey drew a stick figure behind the second 'o' of Google as a message to that they were out of office at the Burning Man festival and with that, Google Doodles were born.
The company decided that they should decorate the logo to mark cultural moments and it soon became clear that users really enjoyed the change to the Google homepage.
In that same year, a turkey was added to Thanksgiving and two pumpkins appeared as the 'o's for Halloween the following year.
Google Google celebrated the Autumn Equinox with a themed doodle
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Now, there is a full team of doodlers, illustrators, graphic designers, animators and classically trained artists who help create what you see on those days.
Among the Doodles published in past months were designs commemorating German scientist Robert Koch, Jan Ingenhousz (who discovered photosynthesis) and the 50th anniversary of kids coding languages being introduced.
And the search giant celebrated the 2017 Autumn Equinox , which marked the official ending of summer and the coming of autumn.
The history of Google Doodles, what they are and where they came from
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Google has honored Hubert Cecil Booth, the inventor of the modern vacuum cleaner, with his very own Google Doodle on what would have been his 147th birthday.
Booth’s invention over a century ago contributed greatly to improving hygienic healthcare and keeping homes and businesses clean, making him one of the UK’s most prominent inventors of the 20th century.
But just who was Hubert Cecil Booth? Here’s all you need to know about who he was, why he invented the modern vacuum cleaner, where the first vacuum was invented, what the first vacuum cleaner was and what a Google Doodle is.
Google's latest Google Doodle has just honored vacuum cleaner inventor Hubert Cecil Booth
Who was Hubert Cecil Booth?
Hubert Cecil Booth was an engineer and inventor known for inventing the first modern vacuum cleaner.
He was born on July 4, 1871 in Gloucester, England.
After studying at the Institution of Civil Engineers, he started his career as a civil engineer, notably designing bridges and Ferris wheels in London, Paris, Vienna and other cities throughout Europe. He also found work designing engines for Royal Navy warships.
In 1901, he invented the first modern vacuum cleaner after watching a demonstration for a device designed to blow dust away, believing that if the device’s system could be reversed, the dust could be sucked up entirely. He soon patented his device and sold his services in the UK, even earning commissions from the Royal Family and the Royal Navy.
Though he passed away on January 14, 1955 in London, his simple yet effective invention still sees widespread use throughout the world today.
Why did Hubert Cecil Booth make the vacuum cleaner?
Booth was inspired to make the first modern vacuum cleaner after observing a demonstration by American inventor John S. Thurman in London, who showcased his new invention: a machine designed to blow dust off of chairs and other home furniture.
Booth reasoned that if the mechanical process of the machine could be reversed and the dust sucked into it rather than blow away, it could be an efficient way to remove dust from homes, businesses and other locations.
He created a new machine that did just that in 1901, nicknamed the Puffing Billy. He soon coined the term ‘vacuum cleaner’ and went out selling its services, rather than the product itself initially. After receiving patents for his device, his company went about cleaning homes, though it was often criticized for being loud and disruptive.
However, it was later used to clean Westminster Abbey before the coronation of Edward VII and also by the Royal Navy for sanitation purposes, giving it credence among the British people.
Who was Hubert Cecil Booth? Inventor of the first powered vacuum cleaner Hubert Cecil Booth: https://t.co/RwzHn6ROyU via @YouTube — Google Doodles (@GoogleDoodles4u) July 3, 2018
Where was the first vacuum cleaner invented?
The first modern vacuum cleaner called the Puffing Billy was invented in England by Hubert Cecil Booth in 1901. However, a number of similar devices were produced earlier, notably in West Union, Iowa by Daniel Hess in 1860 and in Chicago by Ives W. McGaffey.
What was the first vacuum cleaner?
Although Booth invented one of the first modern vacuum cleaners, his idea was preceded decades earlier by other notable inventions.
In 1860, Daniel Hess of Iowa invented a carpet sweeper that gathered dust in homes via a bellows to generate suction and a rotating brush to clean it up. In 1868, another early vacuum cleaner called the Whirlwind was invented in Chicago by Ives W. McGaffey while a similar product was introduced in 1876 by Melville Bissell of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Booth’s modern vacuum cleaner was invented back in 1901 while American inventor David T. Kenney introduced a similar invention independently that same year.
What is a Google Doodle?
Google Doodles are temporary changes to Google’s homepage that celebrate everything from people to special events to achievements and more.
The first-ever Google Doodle was introduced back in 1998 to commemorate the Burning Man festival. Though initially designed by Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, they were later developed by outside contractors before a special team known as Doodlers was created by Google to produce them on a more consistent basis over time.
Nowadays, Google Doodles are often used to celebrate major holidays like Christmas and St. Patrick’s Day, though they’ve also commonly been created to mark events like the 2018 World Cup and to celebrate the lives of notable people like Brazilian artist Athos Bulcão.
