David T. Kenney
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David T. Kenney (April 3, 1866 – May 26?, 1922) was an inventor with nine
patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...
s, granted between 1903 and 1913, applicable to both machine-driven and manual vacuum cleaners, dominated the vacuum cleaner industry in the United States until the 1920s.


Early life

Born to Irish immigrants, Kenney was apprenticed at age 15 to a plumber. In 1891 he began his own plumbing business in
Plainfield, New Jersey Plainfield is a city in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, known by its nickname as "The Queen City."
and gained patents for
flush toilet A flush toilet (also known as a flushing toilet, water closet (WC) – see also toilet names) is a toilet that disposes of human waste (principally urine and feces) by using the force of water to ''flush'' it through a drainpipe to another loca ...
s. From 1896 to his death he maintained offices in New York City. His businesses operated under the names Kenney Manufacturing Company and later Vacuum Cleaner Company in New York and Jersey Vacuum Cleaner Company in
Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...
. Kenney's first
vacuum cleaner A vacuum cleaner, also known simply as a vacuum or a hoover, is a device that causes suction in order to remove dirt from floors, upholstery, draperies, and other surfaces. It is generally electrically driven. The dirt is collected by either a ...
installation was in the building of
Henry Clay Frick Henry Clay Frick (December 19, 1849 – December 2, 1919) was an American industrialist, financier, and art patron. He founded the H. C. Frick & Company coke manufacturing company, was chairman of the Carnegie Steel Company, and played a maj ...
in Pittsburgh in 1902. Its stationary 4,000 lb. steam engine powered pipes and hoses reaching into all parts of the building. In 1906 his company claimed to have installed electric vacuum cleaning systems in the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
, the Times building, and elsewhere.


Career

Kenney's most significant patent was granted in March 1907. He had filed the application in 1901, when the notion of an electrically powered cleaner was only beginning to be seen as a possibility. A Savannah woman, Corinne Dufour, who had a year earlier received a patent for an "Electric Carpet Sweeper and Dust Gatherer" whose motor was designed to operate a suction-fan, also is a forgotten figure. Kenney purchased one of the English inventor
H. Cecil Booth Hubert Cecil Booth (4 July 1871 – 14 January 1955) was an English engineer, best known for having invented one of the first powered vacuum cleaners. He also designed Ferris wheels, suspension bridges and factories. Later he became Chair ...
's vacuum cleaners, and after the 1907 patent was granted, Booth withdrew his own application for a US patent. Litigation followed, and the Vacuum Cleaner Company as the holder of Kenney’s patents, was a party to several lawsuits in subsequent years. When the Vacuum Cleaner Manufacturers' Association was formed in 1919, its membership was entirely made up of licensees under the Kenney patents, "the basic vacuum cleaner patents." Though most such cleaners by this time were electric, they still depended on the mechanism devised and patented by him - the opening in the nozzle sealing contact with the carpet through a vacuum.


Legacy

With the wealth derived from his patents, Kenney became a benefactor of Catholic institutions, particularly
Mount St. Mary Academy Mount Saint Mary Academy is a four-year private high school for girls, located in Watchung, in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. Located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen, the school operates financially independent of the ...
in
North Plainfield, New Jersey North Plainfield is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. It is located within the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 21,936,Papal Chamberlain A Papal Gentleman, also called a Gentleman of His Holiness, is a lay attendant of the pope and his papal household in Vatican City. Papal gentlemen serve in the Apostolic Palace near St. Peter's Basilica in ceremonial positions, such as escorting d ...
in 1906. He was a prominent citizen of his community, and served on various boards in New Jersey. His last invention, patented in 1920, was for a heating system designed to improve the distribution of heat from a wood-burning
fireplace A fireplace or hearth is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the design ...
. Booth's name appears in British reference works, and the vacuum cleaners he invented and manufactured are held in London's Science Museum. Kenney's name is not found in corresponding American reference books, nor are his machines in the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
or other major collections. David Kenney committed suicide in 1922 after being in ill health himself and losing his wife and a sister.


Sources

*Hoover Historical Center, 1875 East Maple Street, North Canton, OH 44720-3331 *Lifshey, Earl. ''The Housewares Story: A History of the American Housewares Industry.'' Chicago: National Housewares Manufacturers Association, 1973 *New York Times, 12/8/42 (''Thomas Ewing obituary'') *Plainfield (NJ) Courier-News, 6/5/22 (''Kenney obituary'') *Smiley, F.T. ''History of Plainfield and North Plainfield''. Plainfield, NJ: The Plainfield Courier-News, 1901 *Strasser, Susan. ''Never Done: A History of American Housework.'' New York: Pantheon,1982. p. 79 *U.S. Federal Trade Commission. ''Report on the House Furnishings Industry.'' 1925 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kenney, David T. People from North Plainfield, New Jersey Vacuum cleaners 1922 suicides 1866 births