Figure 1.--Here a boy sits on the front steps of his home, putting on roller dkates. The snap shot is undated, but looks like the 1930s to us.

Inventors began expeimenting with rollar skate-like devices in the 18th century. Many advances were made in the early-18th century. Theearliest roller skate was an ice skate with wheels replacing the blade. It was the 'quad'" style of roller skate became more popular consisting of four wheels arranged like a typical waggon or car. This added all important stability. American James Plimpton from Massachusetts invented the 'rocking' skate (1863). He adopted a four-wheel configuration for stability. There were independent axles that turned by pressing to one side of the skate or the other when the skater wants to create an edge. This was a huge improvement on the earlier Merlin design. It was actually easier to use and was a factor in the huge popularity of roller skating. The basic design elements for modern rollar skates were pattened in England (1876). At the time the phemonenon was called 'rinkomania' (1860s-70s). At the time there were no so many paved surfaces, so you needed a rink. The Plimpton design spread to Europe and ebentially around the workd. The basic Plimpton design is still in use today. Mass production soon followed. American copyright law was not yet fully developed and American manufacturers also began producing rollar skates at this time. Photography at the time was primarily studio portraits. Thus we see very few images of rollar skates in the 19th century. A problem with rollar skates at the time was that a flat, smooth surface was needed for them to work well. And there were realtaively few such surfaces available. Even in developed cities, the extent of paved surfaces (mainly side walks and roads) were limited. They could not be used, for example, on cobblestones. Bicycle usage which was also deveoping at the time faced many of the same problems. The problem for bikes was that the streets and not just sidewalks needed to be paved. This gradually changed as more city roads were paved. Henry Ford's Model-T had a major impact on road and street building in America. As more Americans owned cars, demand for paved roads and streets increased. One consequence of this that the area of paved roads not only increased in the cities, but extended out into the suburbs as well. This exponentially expanded the surfaces available for rollar skating. We see many snapshots of chilldren enjoying rollar skates beginning in the 1910s. At first they were mostly for adults. But as more paved surfaces appeared, they became very popular fot children, something they could enjoy around the home. This was all important for extensive children's usage. Both boys and girls enjoyed them, but for some reason by the 1940s they began to be seen as more of a girls' toy. We are not sure just why that was. Rollar skates for girls have als declined in popularity in recent years. Roller skatinggradually evolved from just a diversion to a competitive sport, including speed skating, racing on skates, and inline figure skating. Evem so they seem much less common for children.

Expeiments

Inventors began expeimenting with rollar skate-like devices in the 18th century. Many advances were made in the early-18th century. The earliest roller skate was an ice skate with wheels replacing the blade. The first recorded roller skate inventor, Belgian John Joseph Merlin, debuted his metal-wheeled roller skates at a fancy masquerade party in London (1760).

Invention

It was the 'quad' style of roller skate became more popular consisting of four wheels arranged like a typical waggon or car. This added all important stability. American James Plimpton from Massachusetts invented the 'rocking' skate (1863). He adopted a four-wheel configuration for stability. There were independent axles that turned by pressing to one side of the skate or the other when the skater wants to create an edge. This was a huge improvement on the earlier Merlin design. It was actually easier to use and was a factor in the huge popularity of roller skating. The basic design elements for modern rollar skates were pattened in England (1876). At the time the phemonenon was called 'rinkomania' (1860s-70s). At the time there were no so many oaved surfaces, so you needed a rink. The Plimpton design spread to Europe and ebentially around the workd. The basic Plimpton design is still in use today.

Mass Production

Mass production soon followed. American copyright law was not yet fully developed and American manufacturers also began producing rollar skates at this time. Photography at the time was primarily studio portraits. Thus we see very few images of rollar skates in the 19th century.

Problem

A problem with rollar skates at the time was that a flat, smooth surface was needed for them to work well. And there were realtaively few such surfaces available. Even in developed cities, the extent of paved surfaces (mainly side walks and roads) were limited. They could not be used, for example, on cobblestones. Bicycle usage which was also deveoping at the time faced many of the same problems. The problem for bikes was that the streets and not just sidewalks needed to be paved. This gradually changed as more city roads were paved.

The Automobile

The automobile in so many ways helped make modrrn America--and along the way saved Western Civilization. Henry Ford's Model-T had a major impact on road and street building in America. As more Americans owned cars, demand for paved roads and streets increased. One consequence of this that the area of paved roads not only increased in the cities, but extended out into the suburbs as well.

Children's Usage

Balance is imprtant for rollarskating. Children begin to rollar skate about agev6byears--the same age that they begin to master two-wheelers. All the road and street paving after the turn-of-the 20th century exponentially expanded the surfaces available for rollar skating. Rollar skates rapidly became a very popular children's toy. We see many snapshots of chilldren enjoying rollar skates beginning in the 1910s. At first they were mostly for adults. But as more paved surfaces appeared, they became very popular fot children, something they could enjoy around the home. This was all important for extensive children's usage. We think that rollar skates were somewhay less important for mrican kids than in estern Europe because America was more prosperous and mpre American kids had bikes. This contunued for most of the 20th century. Children's rollar skates were all metal decices for sevrral decades. This changed (1960s). The new plastics became all the rage. We begin to see fewer children on rollar skates toward the end of the century. We see a lot of adult rollar skating activities, but fewer children enjoying them. We are not sure why. Surely the popularity of skate boarding mneant that few boys would take up rollar skating, but wevare less sure about the girls. It may be a safety issue. Perhaps readers may have some idea. Initially both boys and girls enjoyed rollar skating. Many of our photographs from thevearly-20th century show boys and girls having fun on skates. For some reason this changed at mid-century. World War II seems to be the dividing point. They began to be seen as more of a girls' toy. We are not sure just why that was. As a child in the 1940s I recall mmost girls rollar skating. I hink bikes were a factor. More boys than girls had bikes. Rollar skates for girls have also declined in popularity in recent years.

Roller Sport

Adult roller skating gradually evolved from just a diversion to a competitive sport. We see this happening more in America than any other country. Adult skating declined for a while as it began to be seen as a children's diversion. A revial began, perhaps when waitresses in shoet skirts the new drive-in restaurants after World War II started delivering hamburgers and malts to customers (1950s). Roller-skating began recovering, perhaps hitting a peak in the roller-disco era of the 1970s and 80s. Inline skates wereva sensation in the 90’s, but quad skating has once again become popular again. including speed skating, racing on skates, and inline figure skating. Evem so they seem much less common for children.

Created: 12:19 AM 10/31/2010
Last updated: 9:39 AM 11/18/2019