While attending the Constitutional Convention in July of 1787, George Washington found the brutal summer heat unbearable and decided to purchase a "fan chair". This photo shows one owned by the museum collections of Mount Vernon, but is likely not the specific design owned by Washington.
It does, though, show the ingenuity of inventors before the age of air conditioning. John Cram, a craftsman in Philadelphia, designed this chair in 1786. Tapping one's feet on the pedals pulled the overhead fan back and forth.
-via Core77 | Photo: Mount Vernon