Inlineskate Speed

 

The earliest roller skates known are from 18th century Europe. These skates were used in theater and musical performances, possibly to simulate ice skating onstage. Early roller skating was done in a straight line because turning or curving was very difficult with the primitive skate designs of the time. Until the 1840s roller skates were occasionally used for stage productions and some outdoor exhibitions, but there was no widespread use.Waitresses in an 1840s beer hall in Berlin used roller skates to serve customers. Ballet and opera of the late 1840s, such as Le prophète, featured roller skating. This helped to make roller skating popular for the first time, in 1850s Europe. Technological improvements helped as well, such as rubber wheels in 1859 and four-wheeled turning skates in 1863.^[1]:9–13 The popularity of roller skating has fluctuated greatly since then; it is typically called a "craze" at its high points.

 

 

Roller skating boomed in popularity from 1880 to 1910; roller skates were mass produced and skating in rinks became popular with the general public in Europe, North and South America, and Australia.^[5][1]:25 Specialized types of roller skating appeared in this period, such as figure skating and speed skating. After a decline in popularity, roller skating became widespread again in the 1930s to the 1950s. This era is known as the golden age of roller skating. Many skating rinks offering electric organ music were built throughout the United States in this period.^[1]:89–91

In the 1970s, roller disco became widespread. This style of skating originated with disco music predominantly among Black and gay skaters.^[6] During the late 1980s and the 1990s, outdoor and indoor inline skating (with "rollerblades") became popular. Roller skating declined in popularity in the early 21st century, but became more popular again during the COVID pandemic.^[7][3]Roller skating has long been tied to Black American social movements, immigrant communities, and the LGBT community, particularly for women in roller derby. As a hobby it is perceived as whimsical and is widely accessible.^[8]

 

Historical timeline

• 1743: First recorded use of roller skates, in a London stage performance. The inventor of this skate is unknown.
• 1760: First recorded skate invention, by John Joseph Merlin, who created a primitive inline skate with small metal wheels.
• 1818: Roller skates appeared on the ballet stage in Berlin.^[9]
• 1819: First patented roller skate design, in France by M. Petitbled. These early skates were similar to today's inline skates, but they were not very maneuverable. It was difficult with these skates to do anything but move in a straight line and perhaps make wide sweeping turns.
• Rest of the 19th century: inventors continued to work on improving skate design.

• 1823: Robert John Tyers of London patented a skate called the Rolito. This skate had five wheels in a single row on the bottom of a shoe or boot.^[11]
• 1857: Finally, roller skating had gained enough momentum to warrant the opening of the first public skating rinks. The Strand, London and Floral Hall had these first roller rinks.^[12]
• 1863: The four-wheeled turning roller skate, or quad skate, with four wheels set in two side-by-side pairs (front and rear), was first designed, in New York City by James Leonard Plimpton in an attempt to improve upon previous designs. The skate contained a pivoting action using a rubber cushion that allowed the skater to skate a curve just by pressing his weight to one side or the other, most commonly by leaning to one side. It was a huge success, so much so that the first public roller skating rinks were opened in 1866, first in New York City by Plimpton in his furniture store and then in Newport, Rhode Island with the support of Plimpton. The design of the quad skate allowed easier turns and maneuverability, and the quad skate came to dominate the industry for more than a century.
• 1875 Roller skating rink in Plymouth, England held its first competition.^[13]
• 1876: William Brown in Birmingham, England, patented a design for the wheels of roller skates. Brown's design embodied his effort to keep the two bearing surfaces of an axle, fixed and moving, apart. Brown worked closely with Joseph Henry Hughes, who drew up the patent for a ball or roller bearing race for bicycle and carriage wheels in 1877. Hughes' patent included all the elements of an adjustable system. These two men are thus responsible for modern roller skate and skateboard wheels, as well as the ball bearing race inclusion in velocipedes—later to become motorbikes and automobiles. This was arguably the most important advance in the realistic use of roller skates as a pleasurable pastime.