Who invented the draisine, the early two-wheeled bicycle, in 1817?

Karl Drais invented the draisine, an early two-wheeled bicycle, in 1817.

The German baron and inventor presented his Laufmaschine, or running machine, in Mannheim in 1817. The rider sat on a saddle, steered with a front wheel, and pushed against the ground with both feet. It had no pedals, chain, or brakes, so riders supplied the forward motion themselves.

Drais’s machine appeared during a period when horses were expensive and grain shortages had damaged transport. Its design offered a new way to travel using balance and human power. In English-speaking countries it became known as the hobby horse or velocipede.

The draisine was not a modern bicycle, but it established the basic two-wheel layout. Pedals were added to later velocipedes, and further developments eventually produced the safety bicycle with equal-sized wheels.