The clothes dryer as we know it traces back mainly to African American inventor George T. Sampson , who patented the first automatic clothes dryer in 1892, and later to J. Ross Moore, who created the first fully automatic electric dryer in 1938.

Who invented the clothes dryer?

If you’re asking “who invented the clothes dryer,” there are two key milestones people usually mean:

  • In 1892, George T. Sampson patented an automatic clothes dryer that used a rack over a stove instead of dangerous open flames.
  • In 1938, J. Ross Moore patented the first fully automatic electric tumble dryer with a rotating drum and electric heating elements.

So, for early automatic clothes dryers, the credit generally goes to George T. Sampson, and for the modern electric tumble dryer, to J. Ross Moore.

A quick timeline of dryer inventions

  • 1799–1800: French inventor M. Pochon designs a hand‑cranked ventilator: a metal drum with holes, turned over an open fire to dry clothes.
  • 1892: George T. Sampson patents a “clothes-drier” that suspends laundry over a stove, removing the risk of open flames in the room.
  • 1937–1938: J. Ross Moore patents one of the first automatic electric tumble dryers, with a rotating drum and electric heating elements.
  • 1940s–1960s: Electric and gas dryers spread through homes; features like permanent-press cycles and better electronic controls emerge.

Why George T. Sampson’s design mattered

Before Sampson, many people dried clothes over open fires or basic drum ventilators, which made laundry smell like smoke and posed serious fire risks. Sampson’s 1892 dryer used a metal frame and racks placed over a controlled stove heat source, keeping clothes away from direct flame while still drying them efficiently.

This shift:

  • Reduced house‑fire risk from drying laundry indoors.
  • Made winter and rainy‑day drying much more practical in small homes.
  • Helped establish the idea of a dedicated, safer indoor clothes‑drying machine.

From early drums to modern electric dryers

Modern dryers didn’t appear overnight; they evolved step by step from those early experiments.

  • Pochon’s ventilator: a simple perforated drum over a fire, cranked by hand.
  • Sampson’s automatic stove‑heated dryer: improved safety and everyday practicality.
  • Moore’s electric tumble dryer: introduced automatic drum rotation, electric heating elements, and exhaust vents, creating the basic form of today’s dryers.

Today’s dryers still follow Moore’s core pattern—rotating drum, heated air, and venting—layered with sensors, microelectronic controls, and energy‑saving modes added from the 1960s onward.

Bottom note: Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.