On September 19, 1876, Melville R. Bissell of Grand Rapids, Michigan, received U.S. Patent No. 182,346 for an improvement in carpet sweepers. He and his wife, Anna Sutherland Bissell, developed the device while running a crockery and glassware shop, where packing debris and dust constantly collected on the carpeting. Historical accounts particularly associate the dust problem with Anna’s health.
Bissell’s patented sweeper used rotating bristled rollers, activated as the device moved across a carpet, to lift debris and sweep it into a collection receptacle. It was not the first carpet sweeper, but it was an important practical improvement that helped make routine indoor carpet cleaning quicker and less physically demanding than methods such as taking rugs outdoors for beating.
The success of the invention became the basis for the Bissell manufacturing business. After Melville’s death in 1889, Anna Bissell assumed leadership of the company, expanded its market internationally, and became one of the earliest prominent women to lead a major American corporation.
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