Pneumatic tyre
Neumático hinchable
- Date
- 1888–1891 · confidence high
- Place
- Belfast, Ireland
- Credited to
- John Boyd Dunlop (Belfast, 1888); Édouard and André Michelin (removable tyre, Clermont-Ferrand, 1891; for the automobile, 1895); Robert W. Thomson (1845 patent)
- People
- 👤 André Michelin1853–1931👤 John Boyd Dunlop1840–1921👤 Robert William Thomson1822–1873
- Field
- Movement
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
Rubber tyre with an air-filled tube that cushions and grips. It transformed the bicycle and then made the fast, comfortable automobile possible.
Thomson patented an 'aerial wheel' in 1845 that was forgotten; Dunlop's patent was invalidated on that basis in 1890, but his product succeeded commercially.
What it led to
- Boom of the bicycle and popular mobility
- Worldwide rubber industry and colonial plantations (Congo, Malaya)
- Viable cars and lorries on the road