Roller skates Roller skates Roller skates are shoes, or bindings that fit onto shoes, that are worn to enable the wearer to roll along on wheels. The first roller skate was effectively an ice skate with wheels replacing the blade. Later the "quad" style of roller skate became more popular consisting of four wheels arranged in the same configuration as a typical car. While the first reported use of roller skates was on a London stage in 1743, the first patented roller skate was introduced in 1760 by Belgian inventor John Joseph Merlin. His roller skate wasn't much more than an ice
Joseph Hudson (inventor) Joseph Hudson (inventor) Joseph Hudson (1848–1930) was an inventor in Birmingham, England during the late 19th century and the founder of J Hudson & Co in 1870, later to become the world largest whistle manufacturer . Hudson entered a competition held by the Metropolitan police force in London in 1883 to design a better way of attracting people's attention. He won a contract to supply the police with their new devices, a small but loud 'whistle'. Prior to this time the police force had to rely on hand rattles and whistles were only thought of as musical instruments or toys.