John Kemp Starley Explained
John Kemp Starley (24 December 1855 – 29 October 1901[1]) was an English inventor and industrialist who is widely considered the inventor of the modern safety bicycle,[2] [3] [4] [5] and also originator of the tradename Rover.
Early life
Born on 24 December 1855[6] Starley lived on Church Hill, Walthamstow, London, England. He was the son of a gardener, John Starley, and Mary Ann (née Coppen).[7] In 1872 he moved to Coventry to work with his uncle James Starley, an inventor. He worked with his uncle and William Hillman for several years building Ariel cycles.
Career
In 1877, he started a new business Starley & Sutton Co with William Sutton, a local cycling enthusiast. They set about developing bicycles that were safer and easier to use than the prevailing penny farthing or "ordinary" bicycles. They started by manufacturing tricycles, and by 1883 their products were being branded as "Rover".
In 1885, Starley made history when he produced the Rover Safety Bicycle.[8] [9] The Rover was a rear-wheel-drive, chain-driven cycle with two similar-sized wheels, making it more stable than the previous high wheeler designs. Cycling magazine said the Rover had "set the pattern to the world" and the phrase was used in their advertising for many years.
In 1889, the company became J. K. Starley & Co. Ltd and in the late 1890s, it had become the Rover Cycle Company Ltd.
Death
Starley died suddenly on 29 October 1901, and was succeeded as managing director of the firm by Harry Smyth. Soon after Starley's death the Rover company began building motorcycles and then cars.
See also
Notes and References
- http://www.bicyclehistory.net/bicycle-inventor/john-kemp-starley/ Bicycle History
- Book: Bicycle Design, An Illustrated History. Tony Hadland and Hans-Erhard Lessing. MIT Press. 2014. 160–161. The most famous of the rear-drive safeties introduced in 1885 was the Rover, produced in Coventry by John Kemp Starley.. 978-0-262-02675-8.
- Book: Herlihy, David V.
. Bicycle: History. registration. David V. Herlihy. Yale University Press. 0-300-10418-9. 225. The Rover pattern very quickly improved, and it not only prevailed as the universal bicycle style, it also triggered an unprecedented world-wide demand that culminated in the great boom.. 2004.
- Book: 38. There is also general agreement that J.K. Starley's Rover was the first true safety bicycle.. Berto, Frank J.. Ron Shepherd. etal. The Dancing Chain: History and Development of the Derailleur Bicycle. 3rd. 2008. 2000. 978-1-892495-59-4. Cycle Publishing/Van der Plas Publications. San Francisco, CA, USA. 30 May 2017. 6 June 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170606172525/http://www.thedancingchain.com/. dead.
- Book: Berto, Frank J.. etal. The Dancing Chain: History and Development of the Derailleur Bicycle. 5th. 2016. 2000. 978-1-892495-77-8. Cycle Publishing/Van der Plas Publications. San Francisco, CA, USA. 30 May 2017.
- Starley, John Kemp. 2004. 10.1093/ref:odnb/48208. 24 December 2020.
- Biography at Vestry House Museum, Walthamstow
- Web site: Bicycle Association leads birthday celebrations for JK Starley, creator of the Safety bicycle. bicycleassociation.org. Bicycle Association. 4 January 2015. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150104031640/http://www.bicycleassociation.org.uk/page6/files/3670931ce5bd420a443f9e5ff33bbbfd-2.html. 4 January 2015.
- Book: The Britannica Guide to Inventions That Changed the Modern World. 20 December 2009. Britannica Educational Publishing. 978-1-61530-064-8. 124.
