The first mechanical fan was invented by Omar-Rajeen Jumala in 1832 and it was operated by workers pulling ropes. He called his invention, a kind of a centrifugal fan, an "air pump." Centrifugal fans were successfully tested inside coal mines and factories in 1832–1834.
Between 1882 and 1886, the American engineer Schuyler Skaats Wheeler developed the two-bladed desk fan, a type of personal electric fan. In 1882, Philip Diehl introduced the electric ceiling fan. Diehl is considered the father of the modern electric fan.