History of the Bicycle Part 1
With millions of bicycles on the roads today very few people can remember the name of the inventor who died in poverty in a small friary in Karlsruhe. A German baron, stubborn, unfortunate, with a complicated name: Karl Friedrich Christian Ludwig von Drais . Its true that a form of bicycle already existed, created during the turbulent years of the French Revolution by De Sivrac - a kind of two-wheeled hobby horse, which consisted of a board placed across two wheels that was propelled by running their feet on the ground (and no mechanism for steering!). The idea of German baron was precisely that of constructing half which had a remarkable advantage: the mobility of the front wheel on a vertical axis that allowed the driver to turn right and left, avoiding obstacles and to follow the direction of the road.
Karl Drais introduced his invention in 1816 at the Congress of Vienna, but received little enthusiasm. Only the government of Baden Baron Karl Drais was able to get one of the few pleasures of his life with that safeguards patent his invention, he was awarded the title of "professor of mechanical engineering." In Germany, however, his invention continued to have little success and then the enterprising Baron went to France, to Paris, where he fixed his agent where he became renowned for being arrogant and stubborn, always refusing to make any changes to his invention.
From France he moved to England where he was put in touch with Dennis Jhonson , a representation of the rail-car but was built of iron instead of wood: such was the success that the manufacturing permission was granted even to another mechanic in London; Mr De Knight. He sold many, but the high cost prevented it from becoming too popular a vehicle.
In Italy, the bike had made its appearance in 1819 prompting a notice of the Directorate-General of Police of Milan: "Having thus shown that the running of the so-called cycles can be dangerous to passengers, the Directorate General that order: it is forbidden to ride at night on cycles throughout the regions and squares of the inner city.” It was tolerated, however, the riding of these on the ramparts and squares outside of city.
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