In 1854, a machinist in Connecticut (USA) named Daniel Halladay was asked by a traveling salesman to invent a windmill for pumping water and other uses. At first, he was skeptical that such a device could be sold, but he began manufacturing his new invention in Connecticut. Soon, he moved his factory to Illinois to be closer to the rapidly growing western market. His windmill first demonstrated that a windmill could automatically turn to face changing wind directions without human attention and could control the speed of the wind wheel so that it did not destroy itself in the frequent storms by running too fast.
Halladay’s company, the U.S. Wind Engine & Pump Co., went on to become the largest manufacturer of windmills in America for a time.