The increase in life expectancy during the 20th century is largely due to improvements in child survival; this increase is associated with reductions in infectious disease mortality, due largely to immunization.1 However, infectious diseases remain a major cause of illness, disability, and death.
The First Mowers. The lawn mower was invented in 1830 by Edwin Beard Budding, an engineer from Stroud, Gloucestershire, England. He obtained the idea after seeing a machine in a local cloth mill which used a cutting cylinder (or bladed reel) mounted on a bench to trim cloth to make a smooth finish after weaving.
1 The drum washing machine he invented is very similar to modern machines. 2  It used a hand powered spinner to agitate the water, removing the dirt from the clothes. 3  Hamilton Smith patented the first rotary washing machine in 1858. Hamilton Smith patented the first rotary washing machine in 1858. 2  In 1874, William Blackstone came home with a great birthday present for his wife-a washing machine that washed dirt from clothes and then washed it away. 3  This was the first machine designed for convenient use in the home.