Halladay's self-governing wind pump
Molino de bombeo autorregulado de Halladay
- Date
- 1854 · confidence high
- Place
- Ellington, Connecticut, United States
- Credited to
- Daniel Halladay
- Field
- Matter & energy
What it is
A multi-bladed windmill whose vanes turn into the wind by themselves and change pitch to protect against strong gusts. It allowed unattended water pumping on the prairies and was far more reliable than European mills.
Its patent dates from 1854 (the Halladay Standard); Thomas O. Perry's multi-bladed version (1883) improved it.
What it led to
- water supply for livestock and railways across the Great Plains
- settlement of the arid American West
- today's wind pumps for rural irrigation