H. Cecil Booth
Hubert Cecil Booth, born in 1871 in Gloucester, England, was an accomplished engineer known for his innovative contributions to cleaning technology. After excelling in mechanical studies and graduating from Central Technical College, he worked on marine engineering projects before founding his own consulting firm at the age of thirty. Booth's most notable invention, the modern vacuum cleaner, emerged almost by chance after he observed an ineffective American cleaning machine. Intrigued by the idea of using suction, he conducted experiments and developed a large, horse-drawn machine called the "Puffing Billy," which he patented in 1901.
His invention gained popularity after impressive demonstrations, including one for the British royal family, leading to the establishment of the Vacuum Cleaner Company Limited. Booth's machines were initially used in wealthy homes, charging significant fees for their cleaning services. In 1907, he introduced a more portable model for individual consumers and later marketed his devices under the name "Goblin." Despite facing patent challenges, Booth successfully defended his inventions, laying the groundwork for the vacuum cleaning industry. His pioneering concept has evolved over the years, influencing modern designs, but the basic principles remain rooted in his original work.
H. Cecil Booth
English engineer
- Born: July 4, 1871
- Birthplace: Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England
- Died: January 18, 1955
- Place of death: Purley, Surrey, England
Booth invented the first suction vacuum cleaner, a machine that cleaned carpets and upholstery efficiently and without simply blowing dirt, dust, and other debris from one spot to another. The fundamental principles of Booth’s invention are still seen in modern vacuum cleaners.
Primary fields: Household products; manufacturing
Primary invention: Vacuum cleaner
Early Life
Hubert Cecil Booth was born in Gloucester, England, in 1871. One of six sons of a lumber merchant, Booth excelled at all things mechanical. His early schooling was under the direction of the Reverend H. Lloyd Breerton at Gloucester County School and Gloucester College. In 1889, Booth moved to London, where he enrolled at Central Technical College at the City and Guilds College. W. C. Unwin directed his three-year course in civil and mechanical engineering. Booth graduated as the second highest scoring student, obtaining his diploma of associateship. He then enrolled at the Institution of Civil Engineers. Booth became acquainted with Francis Tring Pearce, the director of Priday, Metford & Company, and married one of Pearce’s daughters.
In December, 1882, Booth began working for Maudslay, Sons and Field as a drafter. The company was well known in England for its manufacture of engines. Booth initially worked on the design of two Royal Navy battleships, and his talent for designing machinery soon attracted attention; he left Maudslay to join a company that developed the huge wheels of the kind invented by the American G. W. G. Ferris in the 1890’s. Steam-operated Ferris wheels were already creating a sensation in Great Britain.
Life’s Work
In 1901, at the age of thirty, Booth created his own engineering consulting firm and wanted to manufacture large industrial equipment; he certainly had no thought of creating a small machine that picked up dirt. That machine, the modern vacuum cleaner, was invented almost on a whim. As the story goes, Booth had been invited by a friend to the Empire Music Hall to see a demonstration of an American-made cleaning machine called a mechanical aspirator. The machine, invented by a St. Louis, Missouri, railway worker to clean railway cars, blew compressed air into the carpet from two directions in an attempt to deflect the loosened dirt into a box, creating a large cloud of dust, most of which settled back into the carpet. Booth wondered if suction could be used instead. He pondered the problem for several days and devised experiments.
Booth was convinced that suction would work. One of his experiments involved placing a wet handkerchief over an upholstered chair at home and sucking on it to draw a large amount of dust into the cloth. He later demonstrated a similar method for his friend in a restaurant (and even choked on the dust he sucked up). He then built a large machine, which he called a Puffing Billy, which was powered by a gasoline engine and pulled on a horse-drawn cart. A suction pump was attached to a hollow tube connected by a flexible hose at one end and a filter at the other. Booth patented his device on August 30, 1901.
Before attempting to sell his new invention, Booth demonstrated its operation before audiences. In one case, he persuaded a restaurant owner to clean a dining room in front of a crowd. The demonstration was successful and word spread rapidly; the device eventually came to the attention of the British royal family. Booth was invited to clean the large blue carpets used at Westminster Abbey for the coronation of King Edward VII in 1902. Later that year, King Edward arranged for a demonstration for himself and the queen. One of the machines was purchased for use at Windsor Castle. Booth also demonstrated his machine for the French president, the German kaiser, and the Russian czar. Booth also gave a demonstration at the Royal Mint.
In 1903, Booth created the Vacuum Cleaner Company Limited, a cleaning service that later merged with his engineering consulting firm. The vacuum itself, however, was center stage at the homes of wealthy families, who invited friends to their homes to see the machine in operation. Booth operated the cleaning service for the first few years, charging his clients the equivalent of the annual salary of a chambermaid. His profits were reduced, though, after he had to pay fines for a range of infractions, including blocking traffic and frightening the horses of taxi operators with the horse-drawn cleaning machine. Finally, in 1907, he developed a portable machine small enough to be sold to individuals. In 1926, he began marketing all his machines under the trade name Goblin, a name derived from a chance comment by the wife of an associate, who said the vacuum was “’goblin’ up the dirt.”
Booth was forced to defend his patent against a number of claimants but won all suits for patent infringement; he even was paid for his legal defense. Later in life he wrote an article on his invention, “The Origin of the Vacuum Cleaner” (1934-1935), which was published in Transactions of the Newcomen Society.
Impact
By today’s standards, it is difficult to understand why those who created carpet and upholstery cleaning equipment did not think of using suction to eliminate dust and dirt instead of attempting to blow it away. Booth’s invention, patented in 1901, now seems so simple.
Decades later, Booth’s machine was made smaller and was eventually powered by electricity (although the usefulness of an electric carpet-cleaning machine depended on the widespread use of electricity). Eventually, the machine included a roller bar with a brush, which loosened the dirt and dust, making it easier for the machine to suck up the debris. Booth did not invent these later devices, but his basic concept for a vacuum set this entire industry in motion.
Bibliography
Evans, Harold. They Made America: From the Steam Engine to the Search Engine—Two Centuries of Innovators. New York: Little, Brown, 2004. General history of innovations that helped define America. Includes useful discussion of the vacuum cleaner and its further development following Booth’s invention.
Furnival, Jane. Suck, Don’t Blow! The Gripping Story of the Vacuum Cleaner and Other Labour Saving Machines Around the House. London: Michael O’Mara, 1998. History of the invention of the vacuum cleaner and its impact on modern living.
Lancome, John. How Things Work: Everyday Technology Explained. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic, 2004. This book provides very clear explanations of how many major inventions work. Includes a section on vacuum cleaners.
Nye, Mary Jo, ed. The Cambridge History of Science. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Volume 5 of this multivolume set discusses Booth’s invention. The Cambridge series is an international standard in the history of science.
Platt, Richard. Eureka! Great Inventions and How They Happened. Boston: Kingfisher, 2003. Platt examines the circumstances in which some of the world’s best-known inventions were conceived and discusses the genius of their inventors. Includes references to the invention of the vacuum cleaner.
Smil, Vaclav. Creating the Twentieth Century: Technical Innovations of 1867-1914 and Their Lasting Impact. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Examines the period with the most concentrated development of the key inventions of the modern world. Includes discussion of the vacuum cleaner.