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Invention of the Bicycle
The first vehicle that resembled the bicycle was put together in 1645 in France by Jean Theson. It was, however, a four-wheeled machine. A two-wheeled contraption was invented in Germany in about 1816. To ride it, the passenger sat on a seat and propelled himself by running on the ground. The two-wheeled bicycle as we know it today was invented in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, in 1839 by a blacksmith named Kirkpatrick Macmillan. It had a steerable 30-inch front wheel and a 40-inch rear wheel. This bicycle had no pedals or chain-activated gears. There were, instead, two foot pedals attached to rods that connected to the back wheel. The alternate movement of rods on either side propelled the bicycle. Unfortunately for Macmillan, his invention never became popular. It was left to a French father-and-son team, Pierre and Ernest Michaux, to build the bicycle from which the present popularity of the vehicle is derived. By 1865 the Michaux family was producing 400 bicycles a year. Then Pierre and Michaux,the french father and son team of carriage-makers, invented first bicycle during the 1860's. Historians also agree that Michaux did invent the modern bicycle pedel and cranks in 1861.Though, the bicycle was invented by France, later people kept modifying it with their own style and made it easier to use and ride. The famous invention of bicycle that was invented as it went by were Draisienne (Hobby Horse), MacMillan Velocipede, Michaux Velocipede, Phantom, Ariel, Salvo, Bayliss Thomas, Kangaroo, Lawson Model, Dicycle, Rover, Domestic Boneshaker, Domestic Ordinary bicycle, Domestic safety bicycle, Fuji Hao, Mitsubishi Jujigo, Everest Racer, Smart Lady, and Mini bicycle. Home page of Inventors and Entrepreneurs