In 1882, an American engineer at the age of 22 invented a device which had a two-bladed propeller placed onto the rotating shaft of a DC electric motor. The inventor was American electrical engineer Schuyler Skaats Wheeler. His design became known as the first electric table fan, also called the buzz fan. Wheeler used an electric motor to turn two metal blades and produce moving air. The idea removed the need for people or animals to create a cooling breeze. The invention came at a time when electrical power was beginning to enter homes, offices and industrial workplaces. Wheeler later continued working on electric motors and other machines.
