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The Persians seem to have been the first to develop windmills (between 500 and 900 A.D.)
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Windmills first appeared in Europe about the time of the Crusades (1096-1270).
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Evidence of windmills in England dates from the 12th century, with earlier references to "mills"
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The first known windmill in China is documented in 1219 A.D.
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In the late 1300s the Dutch took windmill technology to new heights, developing new sail designs that increased efficiency, including using a leading edge on the sail to create aerodynamic lift.
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Holland had windmills in the 1500's for pumping and power.
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Smock mill De 1100 Roe, Amsterdam, Netherlands, built in 1757, type called a grondzeiler ("ground sailer") by the Dutch , since the sails almost reach the ground.
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In the United States in the mid 1800s a new style of windmill was developed that comprised a small rotor set on top of a skeletal steel structure
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Of the 10,000 windmills in use in the Netherlands around 1850, about 1000 are still standing. Most of these are being run by volunteers though there are some grist mills still operating commercially.
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In 1854 Daniel Halladay of Connecticut
created a windmill that turned automatically toward whatever direction the wind was
blowing and that slowed itself down in high winds.
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By 1888 manufacturers were
replacing fragile wooden construction with blades of galvanized steel.
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Though handy for running direct current appliances, when electrification by connection to the main power grid came to many rural areas of the United States during the 1930s, the windmill lost its popularity.
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Did you know that windmills always turn counter-clockwise, except for those in Ireland? Initially, windmills were used for pumping water and milling grain. They were first employed into energy producing in 1973.
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An operating Dutch windmill (1994) that features leading edge airfoil sections The mechanism used to turn the rotor into the wind and the windows of the first-floor living quarters are easily seen.
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Norfolk’s last commercial flour mill has been removed. The sail, at Denver Mill, near Downham Market, was taken away on 13th January 2012 for repairs.
