Matthew A Cherry

1834

1895

America

African American

May 1888- Received his patent for the tricycle
January 1895- Received his patent for a streetcar fender

Whilst there is little known about Cherry’s early life, it is evident that he had a passion for revolutionising transportation.

Cherry prefaced his inventions with a great improvement on the velocipede which is a precursor to the modern bicycle, consisting of a metal seat frame with wheels attached. The riders were able to transport themselves quickly, by moving their feet along the ground to propel the frame. Before pedals, this was a fast way to travel. Cherry’s model of the velocipede was an improvement on past versions, and eventually his model evolved into the tricycle, which is still used today.

In May 1888, Cherry received his patent for the tricycle. Even today, tricycles are the choice of transportation for many as opposed to bicycles, because of their increased safety and carrying capacity.
On 1 January1895, Cherry received a patent for the streetcar fender. Before this device was developed, streetcars would be damaged in collisions. Cherry recognised this problem, and invented the fender, a piece of metal that attaches to the front of a streetcar and acts as a shock absorber. This protects the front of the car from needing extensive repairs, and absorbs some of the impact from the collision, which can protect passengers from injury. Today, the streetcar fender in some form is used on almost every automobile manufactured anywhere in the world and is commonly referred to as a `bumper.’

https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/cherry-matthew-1834/#:~:text=Cherry%2C%20the%20inventor%20of%20the,a%20passion%20for%20revolutionizing%20transportation.

https://theblackdetour.com/matthew-a-cherry-invented-the-tricycle-streetcar-fender/