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Karl Freiherr von Drais | |
|---|---|
 Karl Drais, c. 1820, then still a baron | |
| Born | Karl Friedrich Christian Ludwig Freiherr Drais von Sauerbronn (1785-04-29)29 April 1785 |
| Died | 10 December 1851(1851-12-10) (aged 66) Karlsruhe,Grand Duchy of Baden,German Confederation |
| Nationality | German |
| Occupation | Inventor |
Karl Freiherr von Drais (full name:Karl Friedrich Christian Ludwig Freiherr Drais von Sauerbronn; 29 April 1785 – 10 December 1851) was a nobleGerman forest official and significant inventor in theBiedermeier period. He is regarded as "the father" and as the inventor of thebicycle.[1]
Drais was a prolificinventor, who invented theLaufmaschine ("running machine"),[2] also later called thevelocipede,draisine (English) ordraisienne (French), also nicknamed the hobby horse ordandy horse. This was his most popular and widely recognized invention. It incorporated the two-wheeler principle that is basic to thebicycle andmotorcycle and was the beginning of mechanized personal transport.[3] This was the earliest form of a bicycle, without pedals.
His first reported ride fromMannheim to the "Schwetzinger Relaishaus" (acoaching inn, located in "Rheinau", today a district of Mannheim) took place on 12 June 1817 using Baden's best road. Karl rode his bike;[4] it was a distance of about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi). The round trip took him a little more than an hour but may be seen as the big bang for horseless transport. However, after marketing the velocipede, it became apparent that roads were so rutted by carriages that it was hard to balance on the machine for long, so velocipede riders took to thepavements (sidewalks) and moved far too quickly, endangering pedestrians. Consequently, authorities in Germany, Great Britain, the United States, and evenCalcutta banned its use, which ended its vogue for decades.[5]
Drais also invented the earliesttypewriter with a keyboard (1821). He later developed an earlystenograph machine which used 16 characters (1827), a device to record piano music on paper (1812), the firstmeat grinder (1840s), and a wood-saving cooker including the earliesthay chest. He also invented two four-wheeled human powered vehicles (1813/1814), the second of which he presented inVienna to the congress carving up Europe afterNapoleon's defeat.[6] In 1842, he developed a foot-driven human powered railway vehicle whose name "draisine" is used even today for railway handcars.[5]
Drais was unable to market his inventions for profit because he was still a civil servant ofBaden, even though he was being paid without providing active service. As a result, on 12 January 1818, Drais was awarded agrand-ducal privilege (Großherzogliches Privileg) to protect his inventions for 10 years inBaden by the youngerGrand DukeKarl.[7] Grand Duke Karl also appointed Drais professor ofmechanics. This was merely an honorary title, not related to any university or other institution. Drais retired from the civil service and was awarded a pension for his appointment to professor of mechanical science.[5]
In 1820, trouble overtook Drais when the political murder of the authorAugust von Kotzebue was followed by the beheading of the perpetrator,Karl Ludwig Sand. In 1822, Drais was a fervent liberal who supported revolution inBaden. Drais's conservative father, as the highest Judge ofBaden, had not entered a plea for pardon in the beheading ofKarl Ludwig Sand, and the younger Drais was mobbed by the student partisans everywhere inGermany due to his family ties. Therefore, Drais emigrated toBrazil where he lived from 1822 to 1827, and worked as a land surveyor on the fazenda ofGeorg Heinrich von Langsdorff. In 1827, he returned toMannheim. Three years later in 1830, Drais's father died and the younger Drais was mobbed by jealous rivals.[5]
In 1839, after surviving a murderous attack in 1838, he moved to the village ofWaldkatzenbach in the hills ofOdenwald and remained there until 1845. During this period, he invented the railway handcar (later known as thedraisine). Finally, he moved back to his place of birth,Karlsruhe. In 1849, and still a fervent radical, Drais gave up his title ofBaron and dropped the "von" from his name. Subsequently, after the revolution collapsed, he was in a very bad position. The royalists tried to have him certified as mad and locked up. His pension was confiscated to help to pay for the "costs of revolution" after it was suppressed by thePrussians.[8]
Drais's undoing had been the fact that he had publicly renounced his noble title in 1848, and adopted the name "Citizen Karl Drais" as a tribute to theFrench Revolution.[1]
Karl Drais died penniless on 10 December 1851 inKarlsruhe.[7] The house in which he lived last is just two blocks away from where at that time a youngCarl Benz was raised.[citation needed]
In 1985,West Germany issued a commemorative postage stamp, a semipostal 50 Pf+25 Pf surcharge, in remembrance of the 200th anniversary of Karl Drais's birthday.[5]
In 2017, Germany issued a commemorative postage stamp (0.70 Euro) in remembrance of the 200th anniversary of Karl Drais's first run of his "running machine" on 12 June 1817. The stamp shows the machine plus as its shadow, a bicycle.[9]
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