Did You Know Who Invented the Bicycle?
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A list as to what you will find on this site about Kirkpatrick MacMillan
The World's First Bicycle
A look at Kirkpatrick Macmillan's prototype
Kirkpatrick MacMillan's prototype bicycle was propelled by a horizontal, reciprocating movement of the rider's feet, similar to children's toy cars . The movement was transmitted to cranks on the rear wheel by connecting rods and operated like the rods connecting the wheels on a steam locomotive. The machine was extremely heavy and the physical effort required to ride it must have been considerable.Macmillan could eventually cover the 14 miles from his home to Dumfries in less than an hour. In June 1842, he made the 62-mile trip to Glasgow over the space of two days. He had a minor accident there when a child ran in front of him and he was fined five shillings. The judge subsequently asked him to complete a figure of eight on his bicycle for him and was so impressed, he gave him the money to pay his fine!
Bicycle: The History
by David V Herlihy
Bicycle: The History
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Gordon Hamilton's Home Page is linked to immediately below. Although the main subjects he writes about at the moment are the actual Business of Writing, Business Advertising and Marketing, Food and Drink, Personal Finance and Travel, he also from time to time dabbles in a lot more.-
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Gordon Hamilton has been engaged in Internet Marketing from bases in Edinburgh, Greater London and Lanarkshire, respectively. He has acquired a great deal of knowledge and experience from the wide variety of projects he has undertaken in this respect...
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Gordon Hamilton - Freelance Writer
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Gordon Hamilton has been a Freelance Writer, writing for - and creating - Web 2.0 sites on the Web since April 2007. The first site which he joined was Helium.com, followed by Squidoo in August 2007 and Hub Pages a month later. Those three sites rema...
MacMillan Made Nothing from his Invention
He never even patented it
Kirkpatrick MacMillan never thought of patenting his invention or trying to make any money out of it - but others were not slow to realize its potential! Soon, copies began to appear for sale. Gavin Dalzell of Lesmahagow copied MacMillan's machine in 1846 and thereafter gave the details to so many people that for more than fifty years, he was generally regarded as the inventor of the bicycle.MacMillan was, however, quite unconcerned with the fuss his invention had prompted, preferring to enjoy the quiet country life to which he was accustomed. He died on 26 January 1878.
Get on your Bike!
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Thomas McCall
Another who did not make the most of his opportunity
Thomas McCall, who had seen MacMillan on his way to Glasgow, upgraded the bicycle with brakes and other improvements. In the mid 1880's he was the first to sell bicycles commercially from his workshop in Kilmarnock. He declined any recognition for his inventions and, like MacMillan, never took out any patents.There are two of McCall's bicycles on public display. One at The London Science Museum and another in the Dumfries Observatory Museum.
Scotland Today and for Auld Lang Syne
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- adam parmentier adam parmentier Oct 19, 2009 @ 2:26 pm
- thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
by Gordon_Hamilton
My name is Gordon Hamilton and I live in the United Kingdom. As well as writing on Squidoo, I am the Food and Drink Channel Steward on Helium.com. I a...
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