Who invented the modern vacuum cleaner and patented a motorized floor-cleaning machine in 1901?

Hubert Cecil Booth invented the modern vacuum cleaner and patented a motorized floor-cleaning machine in 1901. His invention, called the Puffing Billy, used suction to draw dust into a filter rather than blowing dust away.

Booth reportedly became interested in suction cleaning after observing a railway-cleaning device that used compressed air. He argued that a machine should pull dirt through a filter, then tested the principle by placing a handkerchief over his mouth and inhaling near a dusty chair. His first powered machines were large petrol-driven units transported by horse-drawn carriage.

The Puffing Billy was too large for ordinary homes. Hoses were carried into buildings through windows, and the machines served wealthy households, hotels, and public institutions. Operators sometimes advertised the service as a spectacle because the equipment was so conspicuous.

James Murray Spangler later developed a portable electric suction cleaner, and William Hoover commercialized an improved version. Those later machines made domestic vacuuming practical, but Booth’s suction principle established the essential approach used by modern vacuum cleaners.