In May 1899, John Albert Burr, an African American inventor from Maryland, patented very innovative technology that is still being used today in modern-day lawn mowers. He did not invent the first lawn mower, but he did design a lawn mower with traction wheels and rotary blades that would not get easily clogged up from grass and weeds. He also drastically improved the lawn mower’s design making it possible to mow closer to buildings and wall edges.
All in all, Burr held over 30 U.S. patents for lawn care and agricultural inventions. In fact, even today’s mulching power lawn mowers are part of his legacy.
John Albert Burr spent his early teenage years working as a field hand in Maryland amid the turmoil of the American Civil War (1861–1865), a period when he was between the ages of 13 and 17. His family’s status provided limited opportunities for advancement, yet allowed engagement in manual labor on farms. Burr demonstrated an early aptitude for mechanics. This inventive talent caught the attention of wealthy Black supporters, who recognized his potential and funded his further development by ensuring he could attend engineering classes at a private university Through this education, repairing supported by community benefactors, Burr transitioned from field labor to more skilled work, and s
During his studies, Burr began to see the opportunity to put his mechanical skills to work and started to make a living, repairing and servicing farm equipment and other machines.
He later moved to Chicago and also worked as a steelworker and filed his first patent for the rotary mower in 1898. Just one year later in 1899, his patent was approved by the US Patent and Trademark Office.
During the early 1920s, he was able to see the commercial success of his inventions and also received several royalties for his creations. He enjoyed traveling and lecturing and later died of the flu in 1926 at the age of 78.
Rotary Blade Lawn Mower: Burr filed for a patent on his improved rotary blade lawn mower on September 8, 1898, which was granted on May 9, 1899, as U.S. Patent No. 624,749. This invention built upon the common type of lawn mower featuring traction wheels and a rotary cutter that shears against a fixed bar, but introduced significant enhancements to address limitations in existing designs. Burr assigned three-fourths interest in the patent to Oscar L. King of Agawam, Massachusetts. The core design incorporated traction wheels fixed to a central shaft, providing enhanced mobility for the user, and a rotary blade system with long shearing edges that extended beyond the outer faces of the wheels. To prevent clogging from grass clippings and debris, Burr enclosed the operating gearing within a chambered casing formed by cheek-plate extensions and a cap plate, ensuring the mechanism remained protected during use. Additionally, the cheek plates were offset outwardly beyond the wheels, supporting a counter-shaft and fixed bar that allowed for a longer rotary cutter without compromising stability. These modifications represented key improvements over prior mowers, where exposed gearing often choked on obstructions and wheel placement limited the cutting width to the span between the wheels. By altering the wheel and cheek-plate configuration, Burr’s design enabled wider cutting paths and closer proximity to obstacles like buildings or fences, while the enclosed system reduced maintenance interruptions. Overall, the mower aimed to deliver smoother, cleaner cuts with less physical labor, making lawn maintenance more efficient for homeowners and groundskeepers.