Penny-farthing the trend was short-lived, the penny-farthing became a symbol of the late Victorian era. Its popularity also coincided with the birth of cycling as a sport. Eugène Meyer of Paris, France is now regarded as the father of the high bicycle by the International Cycling History Conference in place of James Starley. Meyer patented a wire-spoke tension wheel with individually adjustable spokes in 1869. They were called "spider" wheels in Britain when introduced there. Meyer produced a classic high bicycle design during the 1880s. James Starley in Coventry added the tangent spokes and the mounting step to his famous bicycle
Marc Eugene Meyer Stern. His daughter, Florence Meyer Blumenthal, married George Blumenthal. His son, Edgar Joseph Meyer (married to Leila Saks, the daughter of Andrew Saks), perished in the sinking of the "RMS Titanic". His daughter Aline Meyer, married Charles Joseph Liebmann, the son of Henry Liebmann and grandson of Samuel Liebmann. His great-grandson was Walter A. Haas Jr. (grandson of his daughter Rosalie), who served as president of Levi Strauss & Co. Marc Eugene Meyer Marc Eugene Meyer (1842–1925) was an American businessman who served as president of Lazard Frères in the United States. Meyer was born to a Jewish family, the