When we say ‘technology’, we automatically think of cables, electronic components and microchips. However, the wheelchair is also a ‘technology’ and for most of us, when this object or device is mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind is Stephen Hawking. In fact, one of the theoretical physicist’s chairs was auctioned a few years ago, and it was his most popular model, as he appeared in an episode of The Simpsons and even collaborated with Intel to create a smart wheelchair.

However, an inventor was the Spanish King II. You have to go back to the 16th century to find the first wheelchair he created for Philip.

Chinese came to the fore. Before heading to Spain, it must be said that the proto-wheelchair had several millennia behind it. The first record of wheeled furniture dates back to B.C. It corresponds to a child’s bed represented on a 6th-century Greek vase. There is not much data, but a few centuries later in China, something similar to a wheelbarrow was used to transport every second person. and loads. heavy These may be considered the first wheelchairs, but they were still objects used to lift loads, whether human or not.

Philip II. Philip II’s health was not particularly enviable (like the health of many kings before and after him), but he did manage to live past the age of 70. The latter, however, was not very well due to the gout he suffered from around 1580. When his health noticeably deteriorated, an unknown inventor created a wheelchair for him. It was around 1595 and was a portable throne.

It was a wheelchair. Really. This is considered the first original wheelchair because yes, someone may have created something like this before, but Felipe II’s was the first documented wheelchair and its concept was a bit odd.

Made of leather, with a wide backrest, comfortable armrests and a footrest, it was a throne with small wheels on each of its four legs. Yes, it had to be pushed, so the king was not completely autonomous, but there is the first wheelchair.

Farfler’s chair. Over the years the design was improved and Belgian inventor John Joseph Merlin created a wheelchair that had to be pushed but had a mechanism by which the user could control the direction. A revolution occurred in the 17th century. An English watchmaker and paraplegic named Stephen Farffler created the first self-propelled wheelchair (by the user himself, of course).

This was a type of tricycle with lever-operated ‘pedals’, but is intriguingly similar to the competition and recreational wheelchairs used today. hand bike obviously much more aerodynamic.

imagination is the limit. The wheelchair that most closely resembles today’s basic wheelchairs dates back to the early 1930s, but has since been used to climb stairs and even feel like it’s at the home of Professor Xavier from the X-Men. In fact, research continues with chairs controlled by the mind and even the ‘chest’.

Although it is something that improves and improves the lives of millions of people, it also has a slightly sad side: We do not know exactly who the inventor of the wheelchair was. Other everyday inventions also have names and surnames, but the wheelchair is an orphan in this sense.

Image | Marcello Casal Jr/ABr, Pinterest

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