History Of Lawnmowers

Lawnmowers have been around for a long time already and they have changed from being a muscle-powered machines into fossil-fuel and electric-powered varieties.

However, despite of those changes, their primary purpose has remained practically the same, that is, to cut grass and to do it evenly. This article takes a look at the history of the humble lawnmower.

Edwin Beard Budding invented the lawnmower in 1827. He created it to cut the grass in sports grounds and large gardens, or practically any large expanse of grassy areas. Along with John Ferrabee, Budding patented the product in 1830.

However, it took another thirty years before the Budding and Ferrabee lawnmowers were mass-marketed. By 1862, Ferrabee’s company (which acquired the license for producing the lawnmower) were selling eight models and produced some 5,000 units until the production came to a halt the following year.

While most of the lawnmowers produced during the 19th century were muscle-powered, manufacturers looked into other power sources such as horses and steam.

However, the invention of fuel-powered motors gave rise to motorized lawnmowers sometime in the mid to late 19th century to the early part of the 20th century.

Several innovations were made during the 20th century with the introduction of smaller engines which made for more compact and more fuel-efficient mowers.

Then there was the hover mower in the 1960s. This type of mower literally floated above the ground and this design enabled them to be used to cut taller grasses and even small shrubs.

Finally, there are the robotic mowers. Although they still need a little help from humans in order to operate, much of their work is automated which saves people a lot of time.