Disability History and Awareness Month: The Invention of the Wheelchair
Office of the Governor Texas sent this bulletin at 10/08/2012 08:30 AM CDTCommittee on People with Disabilities
Disability History and Awareness Month: The Invention of the Wheelchair
Some of the earliest known references to wheelchairs date back to a Sixth Century sarcophagus engraving from China, featuring a picture of a man in a three-wheeled chair. But the first wheelchair to be commonly used by a person with a mobility disability was called the Bath wheelchair, invented in 1783 and named for the town of Bath, England, where it was introduced. But the Bath chair was little more than a wooden chair with three wheels attached to the bottom, clumsy and uncomfortable.
In 1896, the first patent was issued in the United States for a wheelchair design with a wicker-backed chair with two large rear wheels, situated so that the user could wheel the chair forward, and two smaller front wheels, offering the basic design that is still in use today for most manual wheelchairs. Its design also made mass production easier, leading to wider availability and more innovations to improve the design.
In 1933, Herbert Everest broke his back in an accident, and he partnered with Harry Jennings, who was a mechanical engineer, to design a more sophisticated version of the wheelchair. They invented the first folding wheelchair, constructed out of steel tubes. Their business, Everest and Jennings, is one of the leading wheelchair manufacturers today.
Sources:
- Doctor’s Review: Medicine on the Move, February 2007: http://www.doctorsreview.com/history/feb07-history_medicine/
- About.com/Inventors: http://inventors.about.com/od/wstartinventions/a/wheelchair.htm
- Article One Partners: http://info.articleonepartners.com/blog/bid/60023/Historical-Patents-The-Wheelchair
October is Persons with Disabilities History and Awareness Month in Texas. Each workday in October 2012, the Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities will post a daily Disability History Fact highlighting the accomplishments of people with disabilities or important dates and events related to the history of people with disabilities. These daily history facts will be presented to celebrate “Persons with Disabilities History and Awareness Month” in Texas. Learn more about disability history: http://governor.state.tx.us/disabilities/resources/disability_history/
The Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities (Committee) provides GovDelivery updates for informational purposes on a variety of disability related issues for a diverse audience. Updates may include information provided by external sources. The inclusion of this external information does not constitute an official endorsement or approval by the Committee or the Office of the Governor of any information, policy, product, or service offered by an external source.
Update your subscriptions, modify your password or e-mail address, or stop subscriptions at any time on your Subscriber Preferences Page. You will need to use your e-mail address to log in. If you have questions or problems with the subscription service, please contact support@govdelivery.com.