The history of baby strollers
The baby stroller is an invention widely used in today’s society with the amount of travel and movement that daily life involves. The appearance of the stroller throughout history and the changes made by the need for convenience dates back to the 18th century.
In 1733 William Kent invented the first stroller. Kent was best known for being a gardener architect at the time. The stroller he created was shaped like a shell, had springs for comfort, wheels, and was meant to be pulled by a goat, large dog, or small pony. The problem with the stroller back then, only the very wealthy could afford to buy it as an entertainment toy for their babies.
In 1840, thanks to Queen Victoria for purchasing 3 carriages at Hitching Baby Store, carriages became very popular. The carriages were made of wood or wicker and held together at the joints with brass. These must-haves were so heavily designed that they became works of art. The models are named after royalty and royal houses. Names like Princess, Duchess, Balmoral, and Windsor were very popular.
In June 1889, William Richardson invented the first reversible stroller. The bassinet was built to face parents. William changed the structure of the cart and increased mobility by adding axles to the wheels so that each wheel moves separately. Wheel axles are still used in modern strollers today.
During World War I in 1920, the baby boom made the need for baby carriages very popular. All families, except the poorest, could afford a stroller. From popularity, security became a necessity; which brought the need for brakes, bigger wheels, deeper strollers, and lower sturdier frames.
In 1965, an aeronautical engineer named Orwen Maclaren used his knowledge of airplanes to invent the first umbrella-type stroller with an aluminum frame. These lightweight, folding strollers were invented because of a complaint from Maclaren’s daughter about how difficult it is to travel from England to America with her son.
Since 1980, new features have been added to today’s strollers with new safety construction and more accessories. This shows that the need for baby strollers will continue to be in high demand, bringing even more new features to increase comfort and safety for baby and parents. What the future will bring will keep the development of the baby carriage story growing.