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@Woodie
I think the original ones with the 24inch wheels arise from the team pursuit and the team time trial. It was more about getting close to the rider in front in a similar way that motor pacing bikes have the smaller wheel and is why the 24inch wheel was initially popular untuil people realised the handling was a nightmare and 26inch wheels became more common.I would guess they came on the scene in the early 80's or possibly late 70's. Origin was either Eastern Europe or Italy. If you look at old pictures of riders like Engers and Eddie Adkins from pre lo-pro's it is cear they offered little if any aero advantage until Lemond added tri-bars to the mix.
They were never banned as such, just that the UCI introduced the rule of matching wheel sizes. To me a lo-pro and a modern TT bike position wise are not that different. Not sure if when they banned the different size wheels was before the Obree farce and the subsequent banning of all frames like the lotus and hotta etc.