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By
Mary
Bellis
 Early
1700s - In Holland, an unknown Dutchman decided to go ice skating in
the summer, ice skating was the widespread method used in the Netherlands
to travel the numerous frozen canals in winter. The unknown inventor
accomplished dry land skating by nailing wooden spools to strips of wood
and attaching them to his shoes. 'Skeelers'
was the nickname given to the new dry-land skaters.
1760 - A London instrument
maker and inventor, Joseph Merlin, attended a masquerade party wearing
one of his new inventions, metal-wheeled boots. Joseph desiring to make
a grand entrance added the pizzazz of rolling in while playing the violin.
Lining the huge ballroom was a very expensive wall-length mirror. The fiddling
skater stood no chance and Merlin crashed solidly into the mirrored wall,
as his roller skates crashed into society.
1818 - In Berlin, roller
skates made a more graceful entrance into society, with the premier of
the German ballet Der Maler oder die Wintervergn Ugungen (The Artist or
Winter Pleasures). The ballet called for ice-skating but because it was
impossible at that time to produce ice on a stage, roller skates substituted.
1819 - In France, the first
patent for a roller skate issued to a Monsieur Petibledin. The skate was
made of a wood sole that attached to the bottom of a boot, fitted with
two to four rollers made of copper, wood or ivory, and arranged in a straight
single line.
1823 - Robert John Tyers
of London patented a skate called the 'Rolito' with five wheels in a single
row on the bottom of a shoe or boot. The ‘Rolito’ was unable to follow
a curved path, unlike the in-line skates of today.
1840 - In a beer tavern known
as Corse Halle, near Berlin, barmaids on roller skates served thirsty patrons.
This was a practical decision, given the size of beer halls in Germany,
which gave dry land skating a publicity boost.
1857 - Huge public rinks
opened in the Floral Hall and in the Strand of London.
The roller
skate craze - filmed in 1907
1863 - American, James Plimpton
found a way to make a very useable pair of skates. Plimpton's skates had
two parallel sets of wheels, one pair under the ball of the foot and the
other pair under the heel. The four wheels were made of boxwood and worked
on rubber springs. Plimpton's design was the first dry-land skate that
could maneuver in a smooth curve. This considered the birth of the modern
four-wheeled roller skates, which allowed for turns and the ability to
skate backwards.
1884 - The invention of pin
ball-bearing wheels made rolling easier and skates lighter.
1902 - The Coliseum in Chicago
opened a public skating rink. Over 7,000 people attended the opening night.
1908 - Madison Square Gardens
in New York became a skating rink. Hundreds of rink openings in the United
States and Europe followed. The sport was becoming very popular and various
versions of the roller skating developed: recreational skating on indoor
and outdoor rinks, polo skating, ballroom roller dancing and competitive
speed skating.
1960s - Technology (with
the advent of plastics) helped the wheel truly come of age with new designs.
The late 70's through mid 80'
- A second big skating boom occurred with the marriage of disco and roller-skating.
Over 4,000 roller-discos were in operation and Hollywood began making roller-movies.
1979 - Scott Olson and Brennan
Olson, brothers and hockey players who lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota,
found an antique pair of roller skates. It was one of the early skates
that used the 'in-line' wheels rather than the four-wheeled parallel design
of George Plimpton. Intrigued by the in-line design, the brothers began
redesigning roller skates, taking design elements from the found skates
and using modern materials. They used polyurethane wheels, attached the
skates to ice hockey boots, and added a rubber toe-brake to their new design.
1983 - Scott Olson founded
Rollerblade,
Inc. and the term 'rollerblading' meant the sport of in-line skating
because Rollerblade, Inc. was the only manufacturer of in-line skates for
a long time. The first mass-produced roller blades, while innovative had
some design flaws: they were difficult to put on and adjust, prone to collecting
dirt and moisture in the ball-bearings, the wheels were easily damaged
and the brakes came from the old roller skate toe-brake and were not very
effective. The Olson brothers sold Rollerblade, Inc. and the new owners
had the money to really improve the design. The first massively successful
Rollerblade skate was the Lightning TRS. In this pair of skates the flaws
had vanished, fiberglass was used to produce the frames, the wheels were
better protected, the skates were easier to put on and adjust and stronger
brakes were placed at the rear. With the success of the Lightning TRS,
other in-line skate companies appeared: Ultra Wheels, Oxygen, K2 and others.
1989 - Rollerblade, Inc.
produced the Macro and Aeroblades models, the first skates fastened with
three buckles instead of long laces that needed threading.
1990 - Rollerblade, Inc.
switched to a glass-reinforced thermoplastic resin (durethan polyamide)
for their skates, replacing the polyurethane compounds previously used.
This decreased the average weight of skates by nearly fifty percent.
1993 - Rollerblade, Inc.
developed ABT or 'Active Brake Technology'.A fiberglass post attached at
one end to the top of the boot and at the other end to a rubber-brake,
hinged the chassis at the back wheel. The skater had to straighten one
leg to stop, driving the post into the brake, which then hit the ground.
Skaters had been tilting their foot back to make contact with the ground,
before ABT. The new brake design increased safety.
Presently the best way for you to
experience the latest inventions in the world of wheels is up-close and
personal. Please do so, try in-line skating and keep rolling.
 
Inline
Skates
Artwork
of Modern Inline Skates Courtesy of 1-888-wwinline
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