Evolution of the Lawn Mower, Timeline From 1830 to 2020

Key points from the timeline

The timeline starts in 1830 with the first lawn mower, a cylinder machine patented in England as an alternative to the scythe.
Steam mowers arrive in the 1890s, with James Sumner’s patent in 1893, and Ransomes introduces a petrol mower in 1902.
Ride on machines follow: the Triplex tractor rider in 1922, a zero turn mower on the market in 1969.
From 1995 the graphic tracks robotic and solar powered mowers, ending with a 2020 Hustler riding mower.

All points are from the graphic by YourGreenPal.com; corrections are in the notes below.

The evolution of the lawn mower in text

Title: The Evolution of the Lawn Mower. A cartoon man rides a zero turn mower in front of a picket fence; below, a parchment scroll carries 34 dated entries, each with a vintage picture of the machine. Wording is as printed, with small typing errors corrected.

Year	Heading	Text on the graphic
1830	The Invention of the Lawn Mower	Edwin Beard Bunning invented the lawn mower in 1830 and patented it on August 31, 1830. He invented it mostly for use in golf courses, etc. It was supposed to be an alternative for cutting grass using the scythe. Edwin Beard Bunning lived in England. His lawn mower had moving blades around a cylinder.
1859	The Invention of the Chain Driven Lawn Mower	Thomas Green invented a chain driven lawn mower in 1859. They had different widths to cut lawns in different situations. It was quieter and more reliable than previous lawn mowers using gears. It used a combination of chain and sprocket. It was also more durable against small yard debris.
1868	The Reel Lawn Mower Patented	The reel lawn mower was patented January 28, 1868. It was invented by Amariah Hills. It had a spiral blade cutter. It was made in part of iron. It made its inventor almost $100,000 in its first year on the market.
1869	Side-wheel lawn mower	In 1869, Follows and Bates, of Manchester, England, patented a side-wheel lawn mower, driven by internal teeth in the wheel that engaged pinions on the reel spindle. This machine was considerably lighter than previous roller types.
1870	Easy to Use Lawn Mower Invented	An easy to use, lightweight push mower invented in 1870. It was invented by Elwood McGuire of Richmond, Virginia. It was not as heavy as previous mowers and easier to use. It had fewer moving parts as well. It brought mowers to many people as never before. Soon this mower and other mowers would be shipped from America all around the world.
1878	(no heading)	In 1878, the Pennsylvania Mower Company patented a side-wheel machine that was driven by a train of gearing instead of internal gear ring and pinion.
1888	Rotary blade lawn mower	The first rotary blade cylinder lawn mower.
1889	Lawn Mower with better Rotary Blades Patented	On May 9, 1889 a mower with better rotary blades was patented. It was invented by John Albert Burr. It was less easily plugged up by lawn clippings. It was easier to mow close edges with. It had traction wheels.
1890	Motorised mowers	Motorised mowers are introduced which had lightweight petrol engines and small steam power units.
1893	James Sumner STEAM	Patented the first steam powered lawn mower.
1896	Prototype internal combustion-engined lawn mower	In 1896, on the other side of the Atlantic, WJ Stephenson-Peach produced a prototype internal combustion-engined lawn mower.
1900	Cylinder mower	The invention of the rotary blade cylinder.
1901	Coldwell Steam Lawn Mower Patented	The Coldwell steam lawn mower was patented March 5, 1901. It used steam to power it. It was invented by Coldwell. It had a driver’s seat so it was a rider mower. It had a copper coated fuel and water tank.
1902	Gas engined mower	Ransomes and a few other companies introduce a petrol engined mower, which was leading the market until World War 1. These mowers have the advantage over electric mowers because of greater power and the ability to be used for longer distances.
1918	Reel mowers	Hand push reel lawn mowers are mass produced.
1919	Gas Powered Lawn Mower Invented	In 1919 a gas powered lawn mower was invented. It was invented by Colonel Edwin George. It was more efficient than the steam engine mower. Being invented right around the Great Depression, they didn’t take off right away. After World War II is when they were more popular.
1921	ATCO lawn mower	The lawn mower named Atco (Atlas Chain Company) was launched by Charles H Pugh Ltd and became a huge success.
1922	Self-Propelled Tractor Rider Lawn Mower Invented	In 1922 a self-propelled tractor rider mower was invented. It was made by Ideal Power Company. The company was based in Lansing, Michigan. The company also provided earlier mowers. It was known as the Triplex.
1930	Power rotary lawnmower	William Beazley builds a power rotary lawnmower with blades that are driven horizontal to the grass rather than perpendicular like traditional reel mowers, creating a very close cut.
1955	Ride on mower	The first ride on zero turn mower is introduced.
1959	Victa lawn mower	The first Victa mowers were made in Sydney by a local resident. A company was opened in 1953 because it was a successful project. Two of these mowers from the years 1958 and 1968 are displayed in the National Museum of Australia.
1964	Hover Mower	Hover mower is introduced.
1969	Zero Turn Lawn Mower on the Market	In 1969 the first zero-turn lawn mower was on the market. It was invented by John Reiger. He was inspired by belts and pulleys. The steering we use now was not on the first zero turn mowers.
1972	Self-Propelled Random Motion Lawn Mower Patented	On October 17, 1972 a self propelled random motion lawn mower was patented. It is battery powered. It uses a rotary blade. It was invented by Lawrence Bellringer. It senses boundaries and then stops. It has wheels in both front and back.
1990	Riding mower	The riding mower was invented by John Deere.
1992	The Self Propelled Lawn Mower Popularized	Sears Craftsman popularized the self propelled push mower making push mowing much easier.
1995	Solar Robotic Lawn Mower	In 1995, the world’s first solar powered robotic lawn mower was invented. The solar powered lawn mower is able to find its charging station with the help of emissions from a radio frequency by following a boundary wire.
2000	First Natural Gas Mower	The first ever gas powered lawn mower.
2000	Several companies release robotic lawn mowers	They can cut a yard without the owner having to do anything and can go to their charging station by themselves.
2005	Robotic Lawn Mowers	Robotic lawn mowers were made in the end of 2005. The robotic lawn mowers are sophisticated.
2010	The Robotic mower	The self manipulated robomower.
2011	Solar powered mower	In 2011 Black and Decker created the first solar powered mower.
2012	(no heading)	Black & Decker releases a new cordless electric mower with fast charge and extra batteries, enough juice for marathon yard (text ends here).
2020	(no heading)	Hustler Releases Updated Super Z Riding Mower.

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Budding’s first lawn mower and what followed

The lawn mower was invented in 1830 by Edwin Beard Budding of Stroud, Gloucestershire. He got the idea from a machine in a local cloth mill that used a bladed cylinder to trim the nap of woollen cloth, and he was granted a British patent on 31 August 1830 [2][3]. The first machine was 19 inches wide with a wrought iron frame, and it was pushed from behind [3].

Budding’s partner John Ferrabee licensed other makers to build copies, the most successful being Ransomes of Ipswich, which was making mowers by 1832 [2].

Steam arrived with James Sumner’s patent in 1893 and Ransomes produced the first petrol mower in 1902 [2]. In Britain the Atco Standard motor mower of 1921 sold 900 machines in its first year, and Flymo introduced the hover mower in 1964 [2].

Notes on this infographic

1830: the inventor is Edwin Beard Budding, not “Bunning” as printed [3].
1868: Amariah Hills’s US patent was granted on 12 January 1868, not 28 January [2].
1870: Elwood McGuire was from Richmond, Indiana, not Richmond, Virginia [2].
1889: John Burr’s improved rotary blade mower was patented in 1899, not 1889 [2].
1919: Wikipedia dates the first US petrol mowers to 1914 (Ideal Power Mower Co.) [2]. The graphic’s “right around the Great Depression” does not fit 1919; the Depression began in 1929.
1959: the first Victa mowers went on sale on 20 September 1952 and the company was incorporated on 13 February 1953 [2], so the entry’s year is late.
1990: John Deere did not invent the riding mower; a self-propelled riding lawn tractor, the Triplex, appears on the graphic itself in 1922 [2].
2000: “First Natural Gas Mower” is followed by “the first ever gas powered lawn mower”, which contradicts the 1902 and 1919 entries.
The 1955 entry calls an early ride on mower “zero turn”, but the graphic puts the first zero turn mower on the market in 1969. The 1972 inventor’s name is printed as Bellringer; we have not checked the patent.

Questions about the history of the lawn mower

When was the lawn mower invented?

In 1830. Edwin Beard Budding was granted a British patent for his cylinder mower on 31 August 1830 [3].

Who invented the first lawn mower?

Edwin Beard Budding, an engineer from Stroud in Gloucestershire, England. The graphic misspells his name as Bunning [3].

When was the first gas powered lawn mower invented?

Ransomes produced the first petrol mower in 1902, and petrol mowers were first manufactured in the United States in 1914 [2]. The graphic’s 1902 entry agrees; its 1919 and 2000 entries do not.

What did the first lawn mower look like?

It was a push machine about 19 inches wide with a wrought iron frame. A rear roller drove gears that turned a cutting cylinder, and the clippings were thrown forward into a tray [3].