Friedrich Karl von Drais, Inventor of Bicycles and Typewriters

INDEPHEDIA.com - Karl Freiherr von Drais is the inventor of the bicycle and typewriter. In fact, there are several other Drais findings that have helped the transportation and service sector in the world.

Karl Freiherr von Drais was born in Karlsruhe, Germany, 29 April 1785 and died in Karlsruhe, 10 December 1851 at the age of 66. He is a German forestry official as well as a prolific inventor of the Biedermeier period.

Biedermeier himself refers to the period from 1815 to 1848 in Central Europe when the middle class increased in number and became connoisseurs of the new art.

Inventor bicycle

Drais the person who invented the Laufmaschine or "running machine," also later called the velocipede, draisine (English) or draisienne (French), is also known as the hobby horse or dandy horse.

This is his most popular and widely recognized invention. His findings incorporate the two-wheeled principle that is the basis of bicycles and motorbikes and is the beginning of mechanical personal transportation.

His first reported trip from Mannheim to the "Schwetzinger Relaishaus" (training inn, located in "Rheinau", now the district of Mannheim) on 12 June 1817 using the best street Baden.

Karl rode his bike about 7 kilometers (4.3 miles), with the round trip taking over an hour.

Literally, bicycle comes from the French vélocipède or wind chariot. It is a two- or three-wheeled vehicle that has handlebars, a seat, and a pair of pedals that move the legs to operate it.

History says, the origin of bicycles is thought to have come from France, considering that bicycles have been known as a means of transportation since the early 18th century under the name Velocipede.

For years, velocipede was the only term that referred to the design of two-wheeled vehicles. At that time, velocipede construction did not recognize iron. The model is still very "primitive".

The Velocipede was run without pedals, and two people had to turn the cranks on the right and left of the "primitive" bike with a speed guide approaching 109 km / hr.

Seeing this model, Baron Karls Drais von Sauerbronn perfected the velocipede. In 1818, he made two-wheeled transportation to support his work efficiency.

As the chief forest ranger of Baden, he really needed a highly mobile means of transportation. However, the model developed seems to be ambivalent, between bicycles and horse-drawn carriages. So that the community dubbed the Baron's creation a dandy horse.

Inventor of Typewriters and More

Not only bicycles, Drais also invented the earliest typewriter with a keyboard in 1821. He developed an early stenograph machine that used 16 characters (1827), a device for recording piano music on paper (1812).

In addition, he was the inventor of the first meat grinder, and wood-saving stoves including the earliest straw crates and invented two human-powered four-wheelers (1813/1814), which he displayed in Vienna at the congress that carved Europe out after Napoleon's defeat.

In 1842, Drais developed a human-propelled foot-powered rail vehicle called the "draisine", used even today for railroad cars.

Due to his findings, Drais was unable to market his invention for profit because he was still a Baden civil servant, even though he was paid without providing active services.

On 12 January 1818, Drais was awarded the aristocratic privilege (Grochesherzogliches Privileg) to protect his inventions for 10 years in Baden by the Grand Duke Karl.

The title of aristocratic privilege it bears is only an honorary title, not related to a university or other institution. Drais retired from civil service and was awarded a pension on his appointment as professor of mechanical science. (as)