Merlin's roller skates
Patín sobre ruedas de Merlin
- Date
- 1760 · confidence low
- Place
- Huy, Belgium
- Credited to
- John Joseph Merlin
- Field
- Movement
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
Belgian inventor John Joseph Merlin patented the first wheeled skate, wearing it himself at a party where he made his entrance playing the violin; lacking a brake or a way to turn properly, the invention failed commercially despite the flashy demonstration.
Wheeled skates are already documented in use on a London stage in 1743, before Merlin's patent; Merlin's famous violin-playing party entrance is a celebrated anecdote but hard to verify precisely.
What it led to
- Later 19th-century patents for skates with better steering and braking
- Popularization of roller skating as a leisure activity