Wheel - George W. Ferris
The first ferris wheel was designed
by George W. Ferris, a bridge-builder from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Ferris
began his career in the railroad industry and then pursued an interest
in bridge building. He understood the growing need for structural steel,
Ferris founded G.W.G. Ferris & Co. in Pittsburgh, a firm that tested
and inspected metals for railroads and bridge builders.
He built the Ferris Wheel for the
1893 World's Fair, which was held in Chicago to commemorate the 400th anniversary
of Columbus's landing in America. The Chicago Fair's organizers wanted
something that would rival the Eiffel Tower.
Gustave Eiffel had built the tower for the Paris World's Fair of 1889,
which honored the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution.
Finding a suitable design proved
difficult: Architect Daniel H. Burnham, who was in charge of selecting
the project for the Chicago World's Fair, complained at an engineer's banquet
in 1891 about having found nothing that "met the expectations of the people".
Among the audience was George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., owner of a firm
that tested iron and steel. He had an inspiration and scribbled the design
for the Ferris Wheel on a napkin during the dinner.
It was considered an engineering
wonder: two 140-foot steel towers supported the wheel; they were connected
by a 45-foot axle, the largest single piece of forged steel ever made up
until that time. The wheel section had a diameter of 250 feet and a circumference
of 825 feet. Two 1000-horsepower reversible engines powered the ride. Thirty-six
wooden cars held up to sixty riders each. The ride cost fifty cents and
made $726,805.50 during the World's Fair. The original Ferris Wheel was
destroyed in 1906, but there are other ferris wheels at theme parks and
A contemporary newspaper article
describing the Ferris Wheel at the Chicago fair. "To the health of my husband
and the success of the Ferris wheel."
Big Ferris Wheel
"A wild-eyed man with wheels in
The Ferris Wheel
When George Gale Ferris built his
first wheel he probably never dreamed of the trend he was starting. However,
his wheel was huge, and certainly not very portable. It took The Eli Bridge
Company to develop a practical, portable wheel.
Modern trampolining (called flashfold)
has only emerged in the last 49-50 years. The prototype apparatus was built
by George Nissen, an American circus acrobat and Olympic medallist. He
invented the trampoline in his garage in 1936 and subsequently patented
the device. The US Air Force, and later the Space Agencies, used trampolines
to train their pilots and astronauts. The sport debuted in the Sydney Olympics
(2000) as an official medal sport with four events: individual, synchronized,
double mini and tumbling. Athletes can now achieve up to two seconds of
airtime for the performance of gymnastic feats.
- John A. Miller
John Miller was a prolific inventor
who was granted over 100 patents, and invented many of the safety devices
used in today's roller coasters, including the 'Safety Chain Dog' and 'Under
Friction Wheels'. Miller designed toboggans before starting work at the
Dayton Fun House and Riding Device Manufacturing Company, which later became
the National Amusement Device Corporation. Together with partner Norman
Bartlett, John Miller invented his first amusement ride (patented on October
14, 1926) called the Flying Turns ride. The Flying Turns was the prototype
for the first roller coaster ride, however, it did not have tracks. Miller
went on to invent several roller coasters with his new partner Harry Baker.
Harry Baker built the famous Cyclone ride at Astroland Park, Coney Island.
Miller has been called the "Thomas
Edison" of roller coasters.
Coaster History from Patents
It is generally believed that the
first roller coaster in the United States was built by L. A. Thompson and
opened at Coney Island, New York, in June, 1884. This ride is described
by Thompson's patent #310,966, Roller Coasting Structure, filed April,
1884, and issued January, 1885.
The carousel originated in Europe,
but reached its greatest fame in America in the 1900's.
with >>> Escalators