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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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John Dunlop
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(1840–1921) Scottish inventor of the pneumatic tyre. He moved in 1867 to Belfast, where he established a successful practice as a vet. In 1887 his 9-year-old son complained about riding his solid-wheeled tricycle over cobbles, and Dunlop began experimenting with a rubber tube filled with air. In 1888 he patented the idea and in 1889 production begun with a Dublin company (the Pneumatic Tyre and Booth's Cycle Agency), which evolved into the Dunlop Rubber Company. Dunlop himself played only a small part in the development of his invention and profited little from it. There were legal difficulties after it was discovered that the idea of a pneumatic tyre had been patented earlier (in 1846) but not exploited.
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