From 'Electrical Age' magazine, 1905. The article also suggested that a gravity heating system could be improved by using fans in front of the outlets, with cardboard airguides.
The article didn't jump from there to the idea of putting a fan inside the heating system itself.
Sometimes you wonder. Were the celluloid collars restricting bloodflow to their brains?
The current icon shows Polistra using a Personal Equation Machine.