John Boyd Dunlop Fact File Biography: Lifespan: 1840 - 1921 *** Full Name: John Boyd Dunlop *** Occupation: Scottish Veterinary Surgeon *** Date of Birth: John Boyd Dunlop was born on February 5th 1840 *** Place of Birth: John Boyd Dunlop was born in Dreghorn, North Ayrshire, Scotland *** Family background: There is virtually no information regarding his background *** Early life and childhood: He grew up in Scotland *** Education: John Boyd Dunlop would have attended local schools ***

John Boyd Dunlop Fact 1: John Boyd Dunlop was born on February 5th 1840 and during the 19th century period in history when great strides were made in the industrial revolution, the Victoria era was coming to a close and there were vast technological advances being made.

John Boyd Dunlop Fact 2: When he finished school he continued his education to become a veterinary surgeon and attended the Dick Vet, University of Edinburgh.

John Boyd Dunlop Fact 3: Having qualified he practice in Scotland until 1867 when he moved to Downpatrick in Ireland.

John Boyd Dunlop Fact 4: Having been told he had been born prematurely by two months and as a result he convinced himself that he was a sickly person.

John Boyd Dunlop Fact 5: He was once described as “a diffident and gentle-mannered man but confident in his abilities”.

John Boyd Dunlop Fact 6: In 1871 he met and married Margaret Stevenson and together they had two children, a son and a daughter.

John Boyd Dunlop Fact 7: Upon arriving in Ireland he set about establishing his own veterinary practice, Downe Veterinary Clinic in Downpatrick with James Dunlop, his brother and together they ran one of the largest practices in Ireland.

John Boyd Dunlop Fact 8: When his son was young and had a tricycle Dunlop would develop a tire for it. It was in fact a pneumatic tire which is a tire that is inflated with air.

John Boyd Dunlop Fact 9: A pneumatic tire is a tire that is inflated with air and Dunlop developed it using rubber.

John Boyd Dunlop Fact 10: Dunlop was approached by a racing cyclist to use his product and he began winning races.

John Boyd Dunlop Fact 11: So successful was his winning that it caught the attention of Harvey Du Cros who also approached Dunlop with a business proposal.

John Boyd Dunlop Fact 12: Dunlop sold his rights to Du Cros for money and small shareholding in his business.

John Boyd Dunlop Fact 13: Du Cros would himself have a few difficulties but eventually made a success of the refloated business under the name of Booth Bros of Dublin as the Pneumatic Tyre and Booth’s Cycle Agency.

John Boyd Dunlop Fact 14: The development of the pneumatic tire completely revolutionized the bicycle industry.

John Boyd Dunlop Fact 15: After 1885 with the introduction of the J K Starley’s safety bicycle the industry boomed.

John Boyd Dunlop Fact 16: John Boyd Dunlop died on October 23rd 1921 aged eighty one in Dublin, Ireland. His body laid to rest in Deans Grange Cemetery in Dublin, Ireland.

Influence & Legacy of James Watt: His legacy is a long lived one, today not only do Dunlop sell tires for bicycles, but also for cars and motorbikes. The company also branched out into selling sporting equipment in Tennis, Squash, Badminton, Gold, Racket Ball, Table Tennis, Fashion and Safety as well.

Important Events during the life of John Boyd Dunlop include: The publication of Herman Melville’s novel Moby-Dick, another popular novel published was Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Tokyo was destroyed by a devastating earthquake, fire and tsunami and Charles Darwin finally published the Origin of the Species after sitting on it for twenty one years.