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The first self-propelled wheelchair was invented in 1655 by Stephan Farfler (1633–1689), a paraplegic watchmaker from Nuremberg, Germany. The three-wheeled device is also believed to have been a precursor to the modern-day tricycle and bicycle.
This 1680 illustration depicts Chinese philosopher Confucius sitting in a chariot-like wheelchair pushed by a servant.
In 1592, King Phillip II of Spain had a wheelchair commissioned as he was suffering from a severe case of gout. Elaborate in design, the chair was mounted on four small wheels. It required the strength and dexterity of a royal servant to move the stricken monarch.
Wheelchairs began appearing on the boardwalk in Atlantic City around 1887. Known as rolling chairs, they were used by able-bodied and disabled visitors to tour the city's oceanfront.
Wounded Union Army soldiers are pictured recovering at the Armory Square Hospital in Washington, D.C. around 1864. Clearly visible is a patient seated in a wheelchair.
This 1886 illustration of a wheelchair with writing desk and umbrella appeared in George F. Sargent's illustrated catalogue, published in New York. In the wake of the Civil War, Sargent recognized the need for wheelchairs adapted for disabled people so that they could enjoy a modicum of normality.
Meanwhile in England, a thriving industry built up around the need for "invalid comforts"—a term used to describe the bath chairs, self-propelling chairs, carrying chairs, and spinal carriages designed to facilitate the movement of those with restricted mobility.
The development of the wheelchair in the late 19th century went hand in hand with that of the bicycle. This engraving depicts a tricycle for transporting an invalid.
This early 19th-century design incorporated hand cranks, wheels, gears, and an adjustable back and footrest. Jean-Joseph Merlin (1735–1803) was a Belgian inventor better known as a musical instrument maker. He is also credited with the invention of the inline roller skate in the 1760s.
Franklin D. Roosevelt is pictured in 1941 with Fala his dog and Ruthie Bie, the granddaughter of his Hyde Park, New York home caretakers. Roosevelt contacted polio in 1921, which severely restricted his mobility. Few images were taken showing the US president in his wheelchair.
American engineers Herbert Everest, who was paralyzed, and Harry Jennings are credited with inventing the classic X-brace folding wheelchair, developed in the early 1930s. The design was patented in October 1937 and is still in common use.
Thousands of combatants from both sides of the conflict ended up in wheelchairs as a result of the First World War. Pictured in 1918 are wounded American servicemen recovering in a London hospital.
The Second World War also robbed millions of their mobility. In this June 1940 photograph, Queen Elizabeth (later The Queen Mother) chats with wounded RAF personnel during a visit to Wellhouse Hospital in London.
As he approached the end of his life, King Louis XIV of France required more frequent use of a wheelchair. Gout and later a gangrene-covered leg necessitated the need for a mode of transport that enabled him to attend court functions and countryside excursions. The illustration shows the monarch with his courtiers in front of the Swiss Lake at Versailles in the late 17th century.
The original Everest and Jennings wheelchair underwent a makeover in the 1950s with the introduction of the Model 8 folding wheelchair. This was used widely in hospitals and nursing homes, as well as private institutions.
Wounded and paralyzed in the Vietnam War, US Marine Ron Kovic and his wheelchair became a symbol of protest against the conflict and of the treatment of veterans in general. He was portrayed by Tom Cruise in the 1989 movie 'Born on the Fourth of July.' Kovic is pictured with fellow veterans protesting at the 1972 Republican National Convention in Miami, Florida.
The first electric bath chairs appeared in the 1930s. Pictured is one in use in London. However, it would be another 20 years or so before the first powered wheelchairs would be produced.
In 1952, Canadian inventor George Klein headed a project to develop the first practical electric wheelchair. The revolutionary design went on to be marketed by Everest & Jennings on a mass scale in 1956, and the power wheelchair era began. Pictured is George Klein (standing) with his team in 1953.
The 1960 Summer Paralympic Games in Rome saw the introduction of wheelchair racing at Olympic level. The Games evolved out of the International Stoke Mandeville Games, inaugurated in 1948 and which saw the first competition for wheelchair athletes. Pictured in 1964 is the British paralympic team at London Airport, en route to Tokyo for that year's Summer Paralympic Games. Many of the athletes in the group are patients from Stoke Mandeville.
Being confined to a wheelchair has rarely proved an obstacle for dedicated athletes, many of whom see their condition as just another hurdle to overcome on their way to sporting glory. Pictured in 1925 are patients of a US veterans hospital playing baseball in wheelchairs, assisted by nurses.
A 1949 archery class at the Ministry of Pensions Spinal Centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire, England. Stoke Mandeville, world renowned for its spinal injury expertise, would play a vital role 12 years later in promoting sport for disabled on the international stage.
Technical advances in the late 20th century saw the sports wheelchair evolve into a super strong, ultra light piece of sporting hardware. Pictured is women's wheelchair champion Cheri Blauwet of the United States winning the 109th Boston Marathon.
Travel by wheelchair today is far easier than it once was. Most modern-run public transport systems feature designated wheelchair space for passengers on buses and trains.
Airports and cruise ship terminals are equipped to deal with passengers in wheelchairs. For example, air passengers with reduced mobility can take advantage of the global MyWay assistance service.
The late Stephen Hawking famously used a wheelchair for mobility and to communicate. His chair was equipped with a speech-generating device.
Superman actor Christopher Reeves ended up confined to a wheelchair after a riding accident left him quadriplegic. He spoke with the help of a tracheotomy tube. Reeves passed away in 2004.
In her final years, the celebrated Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (1907–1954) painted from a wheelchair. Pictured is the Frida Kahlo Museum in Mexico City, which preserves her studio, easel, and wheelchair.
Sources: (Cavendish Health Care & Mobility) (Smithsonian Libraries) (Journal of Medical Biography) (National Museum of American History) (United Spinal Association) (International Paralympic Committee) (ThoughtCo.)
Wheeled seats used for transporting people with spinal cord injuries or those with mobility issues date back to antiquity. But it wasn't until the 16th century that the idea of building a mobile chair specifically to meet the needs of the disabled evolved. The first self-propelled wheelchair made its debut in 1655. Over the next couple of hundred years as technology advanced, the wheelchair developed into the design we are most familiar with today. By the 1930s, the folding wheelchair had been invented. Without this simple but effective piece of equipment, millions around the world would still be on crutches or confined to a hospital bed. But the wheelchair's role in society is far more than just a useful means of transporting the stricken.
Click through for a fascinating chronology of how a chair with wheels revolutionized the world we live in.
The bath chair, a rolling chaise or light carriage for one person, appeared in the mid-18th century. It was used by able-bodied people as well as those with mobility issues, and was drawn or pushed by hand. It was named for the English spa town of Bath.
The wheelchair and its role in society
From a status symbol to an essential mobility aid
LIFESTYLE History
Wheeled seats used for transporting people with spinal cord injuries or those with mobility issues date back to antiquity. But it wasn't until the 16th century that the idea of building a mobile chair specifically to meet the needs of the disabled evolved. The first self-propelled wheelchair made its debut in 1655. Over the next couple of hundred years as technology advanced, the wheelchair developed into the design we are most familiar with today. By the 1930s, the folding wheelchair had been invented. Without this simple but effective piece of equipment, millions around the world would still be on crutches or confined to a hospital bed. But the wheelchair's role in society is far more than just a useful means of transporting the stricken.
Click through for a fascinating chronology of how a chair with wheels revolutionized the world we live in.