October 3, 1899 – the first motorized vacuum cleaner patented (U.S. No. 634,042) as a “pneumatic carpet renovator” by John S. Thurman of St. Louis, Mo. The vacuum cleaner ran on gasoline, and was presented as a horse drawn vacuum system, which went door to door and charged $4 per vacuuming session. The system did not collect dust and debris and instead the device used compressed air to blow dust and dirt off the carpet and into the air.