The beginning of the journey

Forget about the solid rubber tyre – the first true tyre as we now know it was invented in 1846 by the Scot inventor Robert William Thompson, when he fitted an air-filled tube inside a hollow rubber tyre. He fitted his ‘aerial wheels’ to several horse-drawn carriages in London’s Hyde Park greatly improving the comfort of travel and reducing the noise. One set ran for 1200 miles without any sign of wear and tear.

In 1888 John Boyd Dunlop also ‘invented’ the pneumatic tyre and applied it to a bicycle, which he duly patented only to be rejected because of Thompson’s legitimate patent 43 years before.

Other important dates in the development of the tyre:

• 1890   Barlett Clincher rim introduced
• 1898   Valve stem introduced
• 1903   Tubeless tyre patented by Goodyear
• 1904   Cord-reinforced tyres introduced
• 1906   Pneumatic tyres used on an aircraft
• 1908   Grooves added to improve road traction
• 1910   Carbon introduced to tyre rubber, greatly increasing life
• 1946   First radial tyre (Michelin)
• 1974   Wide radial tyre invented (Pirelli)
• 1997   Five independent tyre dealers join forces to launch TyreLAND

Research into improving the road-handling and safety is ongoing and there have been many developments in recent years to reduce the incidence of vehicles aquaplaning and to increase tyre traction in snow and ice.