Karl Drais

Karl Drais (http://images.absoluteastronomy.com /images/encyclopediaimages /k/ka/karldrais.jpg)

My hero is Karl Drais. This is the man who created the bike. I use to bike all day without knowing whom to thank. Now I know to thank Karl Drais. He was an intelligent, life changing, and inspiring man. He was a role-model inventor.

Karl Drais was born in Karlsurhe, Germany on April 29th 1785. Karl was a democrat but he didn’t think much of it. His father was Chief Judge of Baden. Karl’s full name was Baron Karl Drais von Sauerbronn. His father was Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig von Drais and his mother was Margarete Ernestine von Kaltenthal.

Then from 1803 to 1805 Drais studied architecture, agriculture and physics at the University of Heidelburg. He joined the Civil Service as forestry official. He received the title of Chief Forest Ranger in 1810, but he was not assigned an adequate position. He was suspended from duty one year later. He still received his salary so he could continue inventing.

Karl’s most influential invention was the velocipede. It had 2 wheels but no pedals. As Chief Forest Ranger, he had a lot of ground to patrol so to ease his work he created the velocipede.

Velocipede (http://krtschmidt.com/blog /wp-content/uploads/2009/02/ early_630x-430x320.jpg)

Then in 1816, “The Year with no Summer,” there was a problem with starving horses. Horses were the only means of transportation. Back in the 17th century Drais decided to show the world his invention because of this crisis. The velocipede was created and it was very handy. Karl died in December 10th 1851 in Karlsurhe.

Bibliography

“Karl Drais”. Wikipedia.org. Wikimedia foundations, Inc.. September 20, 2009. October 13 2009 http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Karl_Drais&oldid=315166421.

"The Forgotten Outdoorsmen.(Modern Living; RECREATION)." Time 87.23 (June 10, 1966): 64. General OneFile. Gale. Richard Salter Storrs Library. 15 Oct. 2009 .

http://images.absoluteastronomy.com/images/encyclopediaimages/k/ka/karldrais.jpg

http://krtschmidt.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/early_630x-430x320.jpg