--- title: "What year was Windmill invented and how?" description: "What year was Windmill invented and how?" author: "Harsh Srivastava" published: 2018-08-30 canonical: https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/49192/what-year-was-windmill-invented-and-how category: "innovation, discovery and technology" tags: ["innovation, discovery and technology"] reading_time: 2 minutes --- # What year was Windmill invented and how? What year was [Windmill](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/49164/who-invented-the-windmill) invented and how? ## Answers ### Answer by Harshal Vispute A **windmill** is a structure that uses vanes called **sails** or **blades** to convert wind energy into **rotational energy**, mostly to mill grain, although the term is also applied to **windpumps**, **wind turbines**, and other applications. Such machines are commonly referred to as wind engines. \ Throughout the high medieval and early modern periods, windmills were used. The horizontal windmill debuted in **Greater Iran** in the **9th century**, whereas the vertical windmill debuted in **northern [Europe](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/50223/how-did-the-columbian-exchange-change-society-in-europe-africa-and-the-americas)** in the **12th century**. There are around **1,000** windmills in the **Netherlands** today, and they are considered an emblem of **Dutch culture**. \ **Daniel Halladay** designed the **American windmill**, or **wind engine**, in **1854**, and it was primarily used to extract water from wells. **Sawing wood**, **chopping hay**, and **shelling** and grinding **grain** were all done using larger versions. \ The windmill was part of a self-contained home water system in early **California** and several other states, which featured a hand-dug well and a timber water tower holding a redwood container enclosed by wooden paneling known as a **tank house**. **Steel blades** and **steel towers** supplanted wooden construction in the late **1800s**. \ An estimated **600,000 units** were in use at their peak in **1930**. **North** and **South American** suppliers included **U.S.** **Challenge Wind Mill** and **Dempster Mill Manufacturers Association**, and **Aermotor** is one of the companies that make **wind turbines**. --- Original Source: https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/49192/what-year-was-windmill-invented-and-how Copyright © MindStick Software Pvt. Ltd. This Markdown version is provided for developers, AI systems, and offline reading.