Stephan Farffler
Stephan Farffler (1633 – October 24, 1689), sometimes spelled Stephan Farfler, was a German watchmaker of the seventeenth century whose invention of a manumotive carriage in 1655 is widely considered to have been the first self-propelled wheelchair. The three-wheeled device is also believed to have been a precursor to the modern-day tricycle and bicycle. Farffler, who was either a paraplegic or an amputee, also created a device for turning an hourglass at regular intervals and added chimes to the clocktower of Altdorf bei Nürnberg.
Stephan Farffler
crop from File:Geigen-Clavicymbel und Kunstwagen.jpg · Public domain
- Name
- Stephan Farffler
- Born
- November 12, 1633
- Birthplace
- Altdorf bei Nürnberg, Holy Roman Empire
- Died
- October 24, 1689 (aged 56)
- Place of death
- Nürnberg or Altdorf bei Nürnberg
- Occupation
- Watchmaker, inventor
- Nationality
- Germany
- Languages
- German
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Documentary summary
Stephan Farffler (1633 – October 24, 1689), sometimes spelled Stephan Farfler, was a German watchmaker of the seventeenth century whose invention of a manumotive carriage in 1655 is widely considered to have been the first self-propelled wheelchair. The three-wheeled device is also believed to have been a precursor to the modern-day tricycle and bicycle. Farffler, who was either a paraplegic or an amputee, also created a device for turning an hourglass at regular intervals and added chimes to the clocktower of Altdorf bei Nürnberg.
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Documentary evidence
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Authority files
wikidata · Q1805055 · wikipedia · Stephan Farffler
In this article
Biography
Biography
According to the German astronomer Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr, Farffler suffered an accident at the age of three that paralyzed him from the hips down. Others described him as having "crippled" legs.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Stephan Farffler • Born — November 12, 1633 • Birthplace — Altdorf bei Nürnberg, Holy Roman Empire • Died — October 24, 1689 (aged 56) • Place of death — Nürnberg or Altdorf bei Nürnberg • Occupation — Watchmaker, inventor
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Stephan Farffler was born at Altdorf bei Nürnberg.
Birthplace
Stephan Farffler died at Nuremberg.
Deathplace
Altdorf bei Nürnberg.
Birth place
Nuremberg.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Stephan Farffler”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q1805055: Stephan Farffler
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.retropedalcars.com. A Brief History of the Tricycle. 2012-12-02.
- 2."Medical Innovations - Wheelchair," Science Reporter, Volume 44, 2007, 397.
- 3.Jane Bidder, Inventions We Use to Go Places (London: Franklin Watts, 2006, 18)
- 4.Rory A. Cooper, Hisaichi Ohnabe, and Douglas A. Hobson, An Introduction to Rehabilitation Engineering (Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2007, 131)
- 5.Clive Richardson, Driving, the development and use of horse-drawn vehicles (B. T. Batsford, 1985, 136)
- 6.Frederick James Britten et al., Britten's old clocks and watches and their makers (E. Methuen, 1973, 391)
- 7.Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr, Historische Nachricht Von den Nürnbergischen Mathematicis und Künstlern, Nürnberg 1730, S. 302
- 8.Fabian Zilliken: Die Evolution des Fahrrads - Von der Laufmaschine zum "Custom(izing)" Artefakt, 2012, S. 10
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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