When was wheelchair invented

But, the Greeks and Romans were hardcore toward disability rights, and in created wheeled mobility to get the disabled to the work fields. While the Greeks and Romans were dedicated to drinking wine and watching those with disabilities work in the fields, the Spaniards were just happy drinking wine.

So, in , King Philip II created the first wheeled chair with backrest and footrest , so he could hold his chalice of wine, while wheeled by servants hopefully reflective of our retirement years. As cool as the invention was, it too was a one of a kind creation and not something that was built for the masses.

An Englishman from Bath, John Dawson, built the first commercial wheelchair in Rather, what we mean is, Dawson refined the wheelchair as a universal product, complete with adjustable legrests and reclining backrest.

It had two large wheels, like modern wheelchairs. It could be self-propelled, pushed, or pulled by a horse or donkey, making it incredibly versatile. It was an expensive piece of equipment, but it was more widely available and could be purchased by anyone of means.

It still looked significantly different than the wheelchairs of today, but all subsequent wheelchair designs can be traced back to this one. The next big improvement came in when a self-propelled wheelchair was patented that featured large rear wheels and was significantly less bulky than the Bath design. Less bulky or not, the model was still not easily transportable.

In , pushrims became standard fair. In , the first power chair rolled around London. Variations of the Bath Chair quickly became very popular and soon rivalled the Sedan chair an enclosed box with a seat carried on poles by two men as a form of transportation for wealthy disabled people across Britain.

Patents show that throughout the nineteenth century many improvements were made to the wheelchair to promote comfort, manoeuvrability and independence, including the invention of rear push wheels and push-rims. Developed in the s by American engineers Harry Jennings and Herbert Everest — after the latter became paraplegic in a mining accident — the relatively lightweight and easily transportable chair is still familiar today.

Used in hospitals, nursing homes and private institutions, the Model 8 could be manoeuvred either by the patient via the metal rims attached to each wheel or by an assistant pushing the chair. Unprecedented advancements in manual wheelchair technology have been witnessed since the s with materials such as aluminium and titanium making devices much lighter than older steel versions, and with the advent of athletic models specifically adapted for sports performance.

Manufactured by the company Quickie Designs in the early s alongside tennis and basketball chairs, the development of sports wheelchairs highlights the role of personal ambition driving technological adaptions and advancements.

Today the wheelchair is one of the most commonly used assistive devices for enhancing the personal mobility of people with disabilities. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights.

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Mary Bellis. Inventions Expert. Mary Bellis covered inventions and inventors for ThoughtCo for 18 years. She is known for her independent films and documentaries, including one about Alexander Graham Bell.

Featured Video. Cite this Article Format. Bellis, Mary. History of the Wheelchair.