The first upright vacuum cleaner was invented in June 1908 by Canton, Ohio department store janitor and occasional inventor James Murray Spangler (1848-1915). Spangler was an asthmatic, and suspecting the carpet sweeper he was using at work was the cause of his ailment, he created a basic suction-sweeper by mounting an electric fan motor on a Bissell brand carpet sweeper then adding a soap box and a broom handle. After refining the design and obtaining a patent for the Electric Suction Sweeper[1] he set about producing it himself, assisted by his son, who helped him assemble the machines, and his daughter, who assembled the dust bags. Production was slow, completing just 2-3 machines a week.
Spangler then gave one of his Electric Suction Sweepers to his cousin Susan Troxel Hoover (1846-1925),[2] who used it at home. Impressed with the machine, she told her husband and son about it. William Henry “Boss” Hoover (August 18, 1849 – February 25, 1932)[3] and son Herbert William Hoover, Sr. (October 30, 1877 – September 16, 1954)[4] were leather goods manufacturers in North Canton, Ohio, which at the time was called New Berlin.[5] Hoover’s leather goods business was not too threatened by the introduction of the motor car, but seeing a marketing opportunity, Hoover bought the patent from Spangler in 1908, founding the Electric Suction Sweeper Company with $36,000 capital, retaining Spangler as production supervisor with pay based on royalties in the new business. Spangler continued to contribute to the company, patenting numerous further Suction Sweeper designs until his death in 1915, when the company name was changed to the Hoover Suction Sweeper Company, with Spangler’s family continuing to receive royalties from his original patent until 1925.[6]