The First ceiling fans are mentioned in the 1860′s as being invented by Reese Morgan in Denver, Colorado. These ceiling fans didn’t look anything like the ones we know today. Morgan’s fans had only two blades and were powered by water passing through large turbines. This is the main reason why the first ceiling fans were installed in factory buildings located close to rivers.
The first electrically powered ceiling fans were invented by Philip Diehl in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
By 1920 most ceiling fans were being manufactured with four blades instead of the original two.