Some didn’t make this list – like say, file clerk. These are fun to peruse!
- Leech collector –
A leech collector was responsible for retrieving the blood-sucking worms from their natural habitat for doctors to use. Individuals with this job would use the legs of animals or their own legs to lure leeches from creeks and rivers.
- Knocker upper
Before there were electronic alarm clocks, there were human alarm clocks. People in the 1800s would hire “knocker uppers” to shoot peas at the glass of their window or tap on the glass using a long pole to wake them up.
- Hush shopkeeper
During Prohibition in the United States, when it was illegal to buy, sell or consume alcohol, a hush shopkeeper would sell alcohol under the table to customers they trusted. They got their name from keeping their illegal business “hush.”
- Alchemist
In ancient eras, an alchemist would try to convert chemicals into gold. People considered them “wizards,” as they usually tried to make special elixirs to treat diseases or grant immortality.
- Gandy dancer
A gandy dancer was a railroad worker who would carry out any task related to the railroad track, including setting ties, hammering spikes and replacing rail. A gandy dancer was an integral part of railroad maintenance in the 1820s.
- Human computer
Human computers at NASA and other organizations were responsible for making calculations to determine, for instance, the number of rockets needed to make a plane airborne. They performed these calculations on graph paper, and they could take up to a week.
- Caddy butcher
Caddy butchers specialized in processing and selling horse meat, which was popular in both the United Kingdom and the United States until the 1940s. Horse meat was cheap at that time and was considered an alternative to venison or beef.
- Phrenologist
Phrenologists specialized in studying the human brain based on the size and shape of a person’s head. Phrenologists believed the shape of people’s heads correlated to their intelligence and had many gadgets to prove their theories.
- Bematist
In ancient Greece, bematists learned to measure their steps to calculate distances. They would often publish their calculations in books, which listed distances between well-known points as well as reports of empirical customs and natural findings.
- Redsmith
Redsmiths were so-called for their expertise in working brass and copper, a zinc alloy. Also known as coppersmiths, redsmiths worked copper for at least 6,000 years.
- Scissors grinder
A scissors grinder would sharpen knives, scissors or other tools using an abrasive wheel and would sometimes go door to door performing the service. The job disappeared by the 1970s, as most people found it cheaper and easier to purchase new tools instead of sharpening their old ones.
- Ice cutter
When reliable freezing and refrigeration didn’t exist, ice cutters collected surface ice from rivers and lakes to sell. To cut through the ice, they often used hand saws or horse-drawn devices.
- Food taster
A food taster was responsible for tasting food prepared for someone else to ensure it was not poisoned. The person the food was served to was typically an important person, such as a member of a royal family.
- Billy boy
A billy boy was a young man tasked with making tea for men working at railway yards, blacksmiths and building sites. During break times, a billy boy, who was considered an apprentice, would light a fire and boil water in lightweight cooking pots called “billycans” to make tea.
- Telegraphist
A telegraphist, also called a telegraph operator, was responsible for sending and receiving Morse code using telegraph equipment to communicate by radio and landlines. A telegraphist was one of the first “high-tech” occupations of the modern era.
- Pinsetter
Before someone invented automated pin set-up and retrieval machines, pinsetters or pin boys removed and replaced pins at bowling alleys between each turn. They would hang out at the end of the lanes and reset the pins manually.
- Water carrier
In India beginning in the 1600s, a water carrier collected potable water and carried it back to a village, providing fresh water to individuals and families. However, as pipe systems evolved and became more commonplace, the job became obsolete.
- Herb strewer
In the 16th and 17th centuries, an herb strewer covered up odors inside and around a castle or palace using fresh herbs. However, when perfumes were invented and plumbing and sewage systems became more advanced, the job was no longer necessary.
- Toad doctor
Beginning in the 1600s, medical researchers and doctors believed that toads had healing properties, and they began to use toads in the practice of medicine. They used dried and powdered toads to soothe inflammation and relieve headaches and skin conditions.
- Lamplighter
Before electric streetlights, a lamplighter would go around town extinguishing and lighting gas-burning street lamps. When cities replaced gas lamps with electric light bulbs, lamplighters became jobless.
- Elevator operator
An elevator operator was responsible for manually closing and opening elevator doors, controlling the speed of the car and telling patrons what companies were on each floor. However, this job became obsolete because people now prefer to press their own elevator buttons.
- Drysalter
In the United Kingdom in the 1700s, drysalters were dealers who provided chemical products, such as dry chemicals and dyes, used in salted, tinned and dried food or edible oils. Some drysalters also traded potash, logwood, flax and hemp.
- Crossing sweeper
In the 19th century, when streets were often littered, dirty and filled with waste, people would hire a crossing sweeper to sweep a path ahead of them as they walked down the street. Wealthy people would pay crossing sweepers to prevent contact with waste or to protect their long skirts or articles of clothing.
- Rat catcher
Children or young people became rat catchers during the Victorian era because cities like London were infested with rats, commonly known by then as carriers of various diseases. To solve the problem, rats were either poisoned or killed with wooden sticks to eradicate them from the streets.
- Soda jerk
Soda jerks, or soda jerkers, were responsible for maintaining soda fountains and dispensing soda into a glass from a spigot behind a counter. They also made egg creams and milkshakes.
- Plague doctor
In the 14th century, as the bubonic plague rapidly spread, villages hired plague doctors to treat infected people. The plague doctors used masks to protect themselves from the contagious air, and many used a wooden cane so they could check patients without touching them.
- Physiognomist
In the early 1900s, a physiognomist evaluated a person’s character or personality from their physical appearance. Physiognomists believed that physical features could denote personality traits like sincerity and openness.
- Daguerreotypist
A daguerreotypist was responsible for capturing photos using a daguerreotype, the first form of the camera available to the public. The daguerreotype was very popular in the mid-19th century and captured images of many politicians and celebrities of the time.
- Nomenclator
In ancient Rome, a nomenclator announced the names of people or guests visiting their master. Politicians in Rome, especially, took up the practice of hiring a nomenclator and would have them whisper the names of guests or people as they approached during political rallies to make the politician appear knowledgeable and personable.
- Lector
In the early 1900s, factories employed a lector to read books or newspapers aloud to keep employees entertained. The lector would often stand or sit on an elevated surface while reading the news so that the entire factory could hear.
- Town crier
In medieval England, a town crier informed the townspeople of the latest proclamations, news and other information, as most people were illiterate or non-readers. After the town crier read the message, they would post a notice on the door of a local bar or inn. This is why some newspapers today are referred to as “The Post.”
- Resurrectionist
Resurrectionists exhumed bodies of the recently dead and delivered them to doctor’s offices and medical colleges in the 18th century. As modern medical science grew into a true profession, the demand for corpses increased. Practicing anatomists and medical students needed bodies to dissect to learn the human body’s inner workings.
- Clock keeper
In the middle ages, people hired clock keepers to track time and maintain clocks and other timekeeping devices. Clock keepers often received significant amounts of money to ensure the accuracy of a clock, as the job involved some basic skills in mathematics in a time when education was not yet widespread.
- Film projectionist
A film projectionist was responsible for operating a film projector in a cinema. However, with the rise of digital projection, using film to project movies in cinemas is becoming a rarity, which means there aren’t many people who know how to work with film anymore.
- Breaker boy
To separate impurities from coal, coal breakers in the U.S. relied on breaker boys who were between 8 to 12 years old. Because this job was labor-intensive, many people argued against allowing children to work in these conditions. However, it continued into the early 1920s until the coal separation technology improved and child labor laws became more strictly enforced.
- Aircraft listener
Before World War II, governments employed aircraft listeners who used acoustic mirrors to detect the sound of an enemy’s aircraft engine. While acoustic mirrors may have been effective in detecting sound, enemy aircraft was often too close to take preventive action by the time the listeners issued a warning.
- Log driver
Before the infrastructure or technology were available to transport logs by timber lorry or logging truck, log drivers would use the current of a river to transport them from a forest to pup mills and sawmills downstream.
- Tosher
During the Victorian era in London, toshers made a living by breaking into the city’s sewage system and searching for pieces of bones, scraps of metal, coins or any other valuable items. In 1840, entering sewers was prohibited, and individuals who caught others breaking this law received a reward, which discouraged sewer-hunting.
- Milkmen
Before pasteurized milk and household refrigerators, milkmen had to deliver milk daily to ensure it didn’t spoil. With the rise of home refrigeration, however, the occupation disappeared.
- Dispatch rider
A dispatch rider was a motorcyclist from the first and second world wars responsible for delivering urgent messages between militaries. Radio transmissions during wartime were unstable and prone to interception at the time, so reliable and quick motorcycle couriers were needed during these pressing situations.
- Cavalrymen
Cavalrymen were soldiers who mostly rode on horseback, but could also ride elephants or camels. The last major conflicts that relied on cavalrymen were World War I and World War II.
I have another great batch I will upload in a couple weeks – stay tuned!
(from Indeed.com)