History Fact Finder | Science and Invention - When Was The Bicycle Invented?

When was the bicycle invented?

Although there were many earlier bicycle-like inventions, the bicycle as we know it today was developed in 1885 as the "safety bicycle." It was produced in Coventry, England, by the machinist James Starley (1830–1881) and improved in 1888 by the Scotsman John Dunlop (1840–?) who invented the pneumatic (air-filled tire). The relative ease and safety of these new bicycles made them so popular that by 1900 more than 10,000,000 Americans owned bicycles.

Predecessors to the modern bicycle included the "dandy horse," which was invented in 1816 by German baron Karl Friedrich Freiherr von Drais de Sauerbronn (1785–1851). His device, also known as a "draisenne," was a two-wheeled vehicle moved by the thrust of the rider's feet upon the ground. In 1839 Scotsman Kirkpatrick Macmillan (1813–1878) added pedals and mechanical propulsion to this vehicle, making it easier to ride. His...

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