Kirkpatrick MacMillan

 The Smithy Inventor



Kirkpatrick Macmillan was a man who knew how to live life in the fast lane – because he created the 19th century equivalent of a Mercedes or Porsche sports car.

Macmillan, who was born in Dumfriesshire in 1813, was the inventor of the bicycle. The son of a blacksmith, he became a farm labourer and coachman before taking a job at the smithy.

Macmillan's great inventive breakthrough came when he saw a hobby horse being ridden along a nearby road.

He decided to make one for himself, and when he did he quickly realised that the simple structure, involving wheels and a frame, could be dramatically improved if it could be powered in some way without him having to put his feet on the ground to push it along.

Using his expertise as a blacksmith, he came up with the idea of pedals. In 1839, he completed building a prototype machine, trying it out on the rough country roads around his home until he was satisfied that the design was correct.

Macmillan's initial concept involved placing pedals on the front wheel and passing power to the rear wheel through connecting rods. The bicycle was very heavy indeed – it weighed about half a hundredweight – and it must have been a huge effort to move it at all.

Nevertheless, Macmillan did so. He soon managed to make the journey to Dumfries, which involved a trip of about 14 miles (22.53 kilometres), in less than an hour – a remarkable feat at the time.

In 1842, he decided to venture further and decided to cycle the 70 miles (112.65 kilometres) to Glasgow. The journey took him two days.

He even ended up being fined five shillings for injuring a small girl who ran across his path!

Macmillan's greatest failure was that he did not recognise the commercial opportunities presented by his invention. He was essentially a country labourer who never really thought about protecting his device with patents or about marketing it properly.

Others, however, saw the opportunities, and it was not long before copies began to appear for six or seven pounds a time.

Macmillan wasn't particularly bothered by this and, as a result, never really became known as the father of the modern bicycle – though he undoubtedly was. He died in his native Dumfriesshire in 1878.

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