What was inventd by Kirkpatrick MacMillan,a Scot ,in about 1840?
Kirkpatrick McMillan invented the bicycle in 1840 and I would like to tell you a little story about how it happened. In the early 1800s, the first set of McMillans emigrated from Scotland to Canada. I am certain that they left behind the parents of Kirkpatrick McMillan. Kirkpatrick was born in 1813 at the parish of Kier, several miles from the City of Glasgow. By that time, this writer’s ancestors had settled down on farmland some 50 miles north of Toronto. “Pate,” as Kirkpatrick was known to his fellow townspeople, grew up learning the trade of a blacksmith. Always mechanically inclined, Pate constantly sought to improve things. As a result, the local people thought he was a little unbalanced or “not quite right.” If it worked for their fathers and mothers, why wasn’t it good enough for Pate? Applying himself to the work of being a blacksmith, Pate developed the use of a crank in the shop to turn a grinding wheel. Out of years of experimentation came the first bicycle. It did not just
