Pierre Lallement

Pierre Lallement (born between August 30, 1843 and August 29, 1844; died August 29, 1891) could be the inventor of the bicycle.

As a 19-year-old maker of baby carriages in Nancy, France in 1862, Lallement saw someone ride by on a dandy horse, and would have been inspired to build one of his own, but with the addition of a transmission comprised of a rotary crank mechanism and pedals attached to the front-wheel hub, succeeding in creating the first true bicycle.

He moved to Paris in 1863, apparently interacted with the Olivier brothers, who saw great commercial potential in his invention. The Oliviers formed a partnership with Pierre Michaux to mass-produce a 2-wheeled velocipede. Some claim they produce after Lallement's design in 1864, some claim after Ernest Michaux design. Lallement himself apparently become an employee of Michaux for a short time.

Lallement left France in July 1865 for America, settling in Ansonia, Connecticut, where he built and demonstrated an improved version of his bicycle. He filed the earliest and only patent for the pedal-bicycle in April 1866, the patent being awarded in November. His patent drawing shows a machine bearing a great resemblance to the style of dandy-horse built by Denis Johnson of London, with its serpentine frame, the only differences being the addition of the pedals and cranks, and a thin strip of iron above the frame acting as a spring upon which he mounted the saddle, to provide a more comfortable ride.

Failing to interest an American manufacturer in producing his machine, Lallement returned to Paris in 1868, just as the Michaux bicycles were creating the first bicycle craze in France, an enthusiasm which spread to the rest of Europe and to America. Lallement returned to America again sometime before 1880, which was the date of a patent infringement suit where he testified on behalf of plaintiff Albert Pope, who had bought his patent. Lallement was living in Brooklyn and working as Pope's employee. He died in obscurity in 1891 in Boston at age 47.