When Did People Begin Using Umbrellas?

           The first umbrellas in China were made with frames of wisteria or sandalwood, covered with leaves or feathers. Their main purpose was to symbolise a person's rank. Early Egyptians stretched papyrus over the frame.

           For a long time umbrellas, known as parasols, served only to protect a person from too much sun. In 1750, Englishman, Jonas Hanway used an umbrella for the first time in the rain. Others laughed at him. But it was a sensible idea. At first it was not considered good manners for a man to use an umbrella to stay dry and soldiers were forbidden to use them at all. But eventually they came into fashion. By the 1840s Henry Holland had devised steel ribs from umbrellas leading to the mass productions of umbrellas. The folding umbrella was invented in Germany in 1930.