John Boyd Dunlop

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For other persons named John Dunlop, see John Dunlop (disambiguation).

John Boyd Dunlop (February 5, 1840 – October 23, 1921) was a Scottish inventor who founded the rubber company that bears his name, Dunlop Tyres.

He was born on a farm at Dreghorn, North Ayrshire, and studied to be a veterinary surgeon at the Dick Vet, University of Edinburgh, a profession he pursued for nearly ten years at home, moving to Belfast, Ireland, in 1867.

In 1887, he developed the first practical pneumatic tyre for his son's tricycle, tested it, and patented it on December 7, 1888. However, two years after he was granted the patent Dunlop was officially informed that it was invalid as Scottish inventor Robert William Thomson, had patented the idea in France in 1846 and in the US in 1847. Dunlop’s development of the pneumatic tyre arrived at a crucial time in the development of road transport. Commercial production began in late 1890 in Belfast. Dunlop assigned his patent to William Harvey Du Cros, in return for 1500 shares in the resultant company, and in the end did not make any great fortune by his invention. Dunlop died in Dublin.

He married Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick, who is said to be the inspiration for the popular song Daisy Bell ("Daisy, Daisy, Give me your answer do...I'm half crazy, all for the love of you..." as well as the line "...a bicycle built for two").