Today in History - 1876

In the mid-1800s, Anna and Melville Bissell owned a small crockery shop in Grand Rapids, Michigan. While cleaning up after the day's work, Anna often became frustrated with the sawdust that was embedded in the carpet. The tiny, stubborn particles clung to the carpet, and trying to sweep them up was becoming a time-consuming nuisance.

Anna presented the problem to Melville, her mechanically inclined husband. Melville designed and constructed a carpet sweeper machine that he hoped would solve the problem once and for all. His ingenious carpet sweeper design was a success, and word of Melville Bissell's carpet sweeper spread quickly.