Inventor of the Tricycle and Streetcar Fender
Matthew A. Cherry born February 5, 1834, in Washington D.C. invented several devices that helped revolutionize the transportation industry. Cherry is known for his improvement on the velocipede, inventing both the tricycle and the streetcar fender.
Cherry improvement on the velocipede was a precursor to the modern-day bicycle. It consisted of a metal seat frame with wheels attached. Riders were able to use their feet along the ground to propel the frame. Before pedals, this was a fast method to travel around town.
On May 8, 1888, Cherry received a patented for the tricycle. Today tricycles are still utilized by many who are opposed to bicycles. In many Asian countries, motorized tricycles are one of the primary methods of transportation, used for transporting passengers and goods.
January 1, 1895, Cherry received another patent for the streetcar fender. Before this device was created streetcars would get damaged when they collided with other objects. Cherry noticed this issue and invented the fender, which was a piece of metal that attaches to the front of the streetcar and acted as a shock absorber. The invention protected the front of the car from needing extensive repairs and absorb some of the impacts of collisions. Today we refer to the fender as a bumper which is on just about every automobile manufactured in the world.
Sources:
Gaius Chamberlain, “Matthew Cherry,” The Black Inventor Online Museum, Jan. 24, 2015, http://blackinventor.com/matthew-cherry/; “DARC’s Ethiophile Chronicles,” DARC Foundation, May 6, 2014
Gaius Chamberlain, “Matthew Cherry,” The Black Inventor Online Museum, Jan. 24, 2015, http://blackinventor.com/matthew-cherry/; “DARC’s Ethiophile Chronicles,” DARC Foundation, May 6, 2014