Dunlop

John Boyd Dunlop has his roots traced back to Ayrshire, Scotland. It is interesting to note that his profession did not involve automobiles, but rather he was veterinarian. He later moved and established a thriving practice in Belfast, Ireland. However, the only way in which he could travel on the roads in Ireland was by utilizing wood or iron wagon wheels or those that were made from extremely hard and solid rubber. These wheels made the ride painful since they did not absorb the impact made on dips and bumps. Dunlop never cared much for this, but when he noticed that the tyres on his son’s tricycle made him uncomfortable, he came up with a plan. He started developing a tyre that could employ pneumatic and air based processes. He worked hard and his tyres proved successful in 1888 when he patented the inflatable tyre. Notably, he was not the first to come up with the inflatable tyre, but he most certainly made a huge contribution in making it known. Some of the Dunlop tyres include SP, Rover, SP Sport, Signature, Graspic, and Direzza among many others.