subject: The Interesting History Of Washing Machines [print this page] Washing Machines, while a relatively new addition to the home, are one of our most valued appliances and have been for as long as the technology has existed to put them together.
In fact, the washing of clothes as a general practice seems to date back to almost as long as there have been clothes altogether with primitive washing soap having been found at Sapo Hill in Rome, and the general consensus among those in the know being that ancient peoples cleaned their clothes by pounding them with stones or rubbing them with rough sands.
The first device which might be considered to be equivalent to a washing machine was the scrubbing board which was invented in 1797, and is now perhaps most widely known for a more novel reason than the washing of clothing. As the 20th century brought with it the advent of machines to take over the job which the board had once done, the scrubbing board found use as a percussion instrument amongst performers in the burgeoning Jazz and Skiffle scenes, as well as the more established Zydeco music of Louisiana.
The first washing machine drum was patented in 1851, absent the others parts of our modern device, by the American James King. While the drum created the appearance of what we now know as a washing machine, the device was, predictably, still hand-powered. This is not however to attempt to undermine the significance of the device at the time. It was certainly something of a revolutionary step above its forerunners and it paved the way for a new focus on automated washing.
From that point on, there were various other modifications and re-envisionings of the machine which brought it creeping ever closer to its contemporary household incarnation. The rotary washing machine was patented in 1858 by Hamilton Smith, and the romantic William Blackstone was the first to develop something of an improved machine out of the device in 1874, presenting it to his wife as a birthday present.
It was not however until 1908 that our good friend, the contemporary electric powered washing machine, was born. The prestigiously named Mighty Thor was invented by Alva J. Fisher and introduced to the world by the Hurley Machine Company of Chicago, Illinois. The Mighty Thor featured a drum with a galvanized tube and electric motor, and was evidently enough of a success for the company that a patent was filed for the device on August 10th 1910.
