This Month in History:

1899 J S Thurman patents motor-driven vacuum cleaner

1855 Joshua Stoddard of Worcester, Massachusetts, patents first calliope (musical instrument)

1856 Cyrus Chambers Jr patents folding machine that folds book & newspapers

1888 Thomas Edison files a patent for the Optical Phonograph (the first movie)

1879 Thomas Edison perfects carbonized cotton filament light bulb

1855 American inventor Isaac Singer patents sewing machine motor