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Tag: inventor

February 26, 1725 – The inventor of the automobile is born
This Day

February 26, 1725 – The inventor of the automobile is born

French inventor Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot, born on this day in 1725, receives credit as the creator of the first self-propelled, land based vehicle. Cugnot, a captain in the French army, had long relied on two wheeled horse drawn fardiers to carry heavy equipment across great distances. This included items such as artillery and arms. As the horses tired, his pace slowed and eventually stopped. He desired to create a vehicle that would move along steadily, uninterrupted by fatigue.  This problem led to the development of his first vehicle. To do so, he created a mechanism that turned the reciprocating motion of a steam piston into rotary motion by means of a ratchet system. His efforts resulted in a small scale “fardier à vapeur,”  a steam powered fardier, in 1769, which had t...
January 16, 1853 – Andre Michelin, co-founder of Michelin Tire Company, is born
This Day

January 16, 1853 – Andre Michelin, co-founder of Michelin Tire Company, is born

Andre Michelin, founder of Michelin Tire Company, was born on this day in 1853 in Paris, France. At the age of 33 he took over his grandfather’s farm and agricultural equipment business, which included selling rubber products. One fateful day, a cyclist needing assistance with a flat tire paid a visit to the business. That interaction would inspire Andre and his brother Edouard to develop the first detachable pneumatic tire for bicycles, making changing a flat much easier. This event closely coincided with the founding of the tire company that bears the brothers’ name in 1889. Within a few years Charles Terront used Michelin bicycle tires during his win of the world's first long distance cycle race, the 1891 Paris–Brest–Paris.  Andre Michelin in 1920 As the history of the automo...

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