Who is credited with inventing the first practical snowmobile?

Joseph-Armand Bombardier is credited with inventing the first practical snowmobile.

A mechanic and inventor from Valcourt, Quebec, Bombardier developed tracked vehicles to solve the problem of winter transportation in rural Canada. His work was influenced by a personal tragedy: during a blizzard in 1934, his young son died after snow prevented the family from reaching medical care quickly enough.

Bombardier first built larger enclosed snow vehicles, including the B7 snow coach, which could carry passengers and freight. In the 1950s, he pursued a lighter machine for one or two people. A major breakthrough came with a durable, lightweight continuous rubber track that could grip snow effectively. The resulting small snowmobile entered production in 1959.

The machine was originally intended to be called Ski-Dog, because it was meant to replace dog sleds for hunters and trappers. A printing mistake changed the name to Ski-Doo, which became the famous brand. Other inventors developed important snow vehicles, including American pioneers associated with Polaris, but Bombardier is the conventional answer when the question asks for the inventor of the first practical, mass-produced snowmobile.