TYRES IN 1845

NZ Truth, Issue 1195, 25 October 1928, Page 20

TYRES IN 1845

Invention That Was Wasted The epoch-making invention of the pneumatic ■ tyre is. 'usually credited to J. B. Dunlop, who introduced his tyre m 1890. His invention, had,- however, been anticipated as long as 45 years previously. A CIVIL, engineer named Robert ™ Thompson, who was born m 1822, Introduced a rubber tyre which was mad/3 m the form of a pipe, containing air. His tyres were manufactured by. the well-known rubber manufacturing firm of Mackintosh, of Manchester, and they were fitted to a horse carriage belonging to the Duke of Northumberland. - The first tyres ran for over 1000 miles, arid were still, m good order after that long service. Unfortunately, the vast importance of Thompson's invention was not realized until the development of » the bicycle m its popular form came about, when Dunlop re-invented the pneumatic tyre, this time with a separate tube.