John Boyd Dunlop
Full Name
John Boyd Dunlop
Date of Birth
February 5, 1840
Place of Birth
Dreghorn, North Ayrshire, Scotland, United Kingdom
Date of Death
October 23, 1921
Place of Death
Education
- Earned a degree in veterinary medicine at Edinburgh Veterinary College at the age of 19
Spouses Names
- Margaret Stevenson (m. 1871)
Children Names
- Two children
John Boyd Dunlop was a Scottish veterinarian and inventor credited with developing the modern pneumatic (air-filled) tire. While working in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Dunlop observed his son’s discomfort riding a tricycle with solid rubber wheels on rough roads. In 1888, seeking to improve the ride, he invented the world’s first pneumatic rubber tire for bicycles, using inflated canvas tubes bonded with liquid rubber. Dunlop’s invention was initially intended to provide a smoother ride for his son, but it quickly gained commercial success. After a local cyclist won a race using Dunlop’s tires, the product attracted significant attention. In 1889, Dunlop partnered with a local firm, W. Edlin and Co., to manufacture his tires for bicycles. The following year, he sold his patents to paper manufacturer W.H. Du Cros, who helped establish the Dunlop Rubber Company. This company would go on to become a major player in the tire industry, producing tires for bicycles and, eventually, automobiles. Dunlop’s contribution to the transportation industry was monumental, making bicycle and later automobile travel more efficient and comfortable. His invention came at a crucial time, coinciding with the burgeoning transportation industry and the advent of the automobile. Despite selling his interest in the Dunlop Rubber Company only seven years after its founding, Dunlop’s legacy lived on through the company’s rapid growth and diversification. John Boyd Dunlop passed away in 1921 in Dublin, Ireland. His invention of the pneumatic tire revolutionized transportation, and he is remembered as a pioneer in the automotive industry. In recognition of his contributions, Dunlop was posthumously inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2005 and the Inventors Hall of Fame in 2006