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 The Question:
My son and a friend are working on a an 8th grade history
project. Could you tell us who invented or patented bearings? He loves
skateboarding and this is why he chose this topic.
The Answer:
The brilliant Leonardo da Vinci was
first to develop an early model for ball bearings in the 16th century.
Ball bearings, or
antifriction bearings as they are sometimes called, are one type of
rolling bearing that is used to help reduce friction between two
moving parts (like skateboard wheels on an axle).
But it wasn't until 1791 that English inventor Philip Vaughn
obtained the first patent for today's ball bearings while working on
carriage axles.
Here is an interesting article on How Bearings
Work, including information about different types of bearings.
And if you have any more questions about inventors, check out our
chart of important Inventions
and Discoveries.
—The Editors Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
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