Today in Engineering History: ‘Draisine’ Is Patented
‘Draisine’ Is Patented
On this day in history, 1818, a young German inventor, Karl Drais, patented the draisine, a two-wheeled wooden vehicle that was straddled and propelled by walking quickly. Drais designed and built it in 1817, and named it the laufmaschine or “running machine.”
While working as a forester for the Grand Duke of Baden, Drais used his invention to inspect the Duke’s forest. The novel vehicle soon gained fame among Europeans, who called it the “draisine.”
