Wikijunior:Famous Inventors/Inventors in Transportation/James Starley
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When, Where, and to whom was he or she born?
editHe was born in 1830 to Daniel, a farmer in Albourne, Sussex, England.
What was his or her childhood like?
editHis first job after leaving home was as an under-gardener.
Did You Know?
- He began working at age 9.
- His first job was on the farm.
- An early invention he made was a rat trap.
Why did this person become interested in science?
editHe mended watches in his spare time and a sewing machine for his employer.
Where did this person go to school?
editHe ran away from home as a teenager and went to London.
What problem did he or she uncover that needed solving?
editVelocipedes (bicycles) were dangerous.
What solutions had already been tried that did not solve the problem? Why wasn't it working?
editVelocipedes (bicycles) had wheels of increasingly varying sizes with the front wheel larger than the rear.
What did this person invent that solved the problem?
editBicycles with differential gears and the same sized wheels at the front and back.
How did the invention solve the problem?
editBicycles became safer. Rover bicycles became synonymous with safety bicycles.
How has this inventor changed people and the world?
editModern bicycles have wheels the same size at the front and back. High wheelers disappeared.
What happened to this inventor in the end?
editHe died in 1881.
If you could ask this inventor one question, what would you ask?
editWhat does he think of electric bicycles and modern bicycle shapes and materials.
If you could bring this inventor to today and tell him or her one thing, what would you tell him or her about the effect of his or her invention?
editHigh wheelers never returned in any serious popularity.