Karl Drais (April 19, 1785 - December 10, 1851) was a German inventor and inventor of the velocipede or draisine, an early form of the bicycle.

Karl Drais was born and died in Karlsruhe.

His father was the chief judge of Baden , Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig von Drais. His mother was Margarete Ernestine von Kaltenthal. The then Margrave of Baden, Carl Friedrich von Baden , was one of Karl's godfathers.

From 1803 to 1805, Drais studied architecture, agriculture and physics at the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg.

He joined the civil service as forestry official and in 1810, he received the title of a chief forest ranger, but was not yet assigned an adequate position. One year after, he was already suspended from active service, while continuing to receive his salary, so that he could devote his time for his inventions.

Drais' most important invention was the velocipede, an early form of a bicycle without pedals. His first reported ride with it from Mannheim to Rheinau (now being a section of Mannheim) took place on Juni 12 , 1817. In the same year, he undertook his second ride, which was took place from Gernsbach to Baden-Baden.

On January 12, 1818 Drais was awarded a Großherzogliches Privileg, similar to a patent of our days (Baden had no patent law at that time). In addition, he was appointed a Professor for mechanics by Archduke Carl , what was a a mere honorary title and not related to any university or other institution. At the same time, he was retired from the civil service and continued to receive his salary as a kind of inventor's pension.

From 1822 to 1825, Drais joined a German expedition to Brazil, headed by Georg Heinrich von Langsdorff.

Bibliography

• Hermann Ebeling Der Freiherr von Drais: das tragische Leben des "verrückten Barons". Ein Erfinderschicksal im Biedermeier. Karlsruhe: Braun, 1985.
• Keizo Kobayashi: Histoire du vélocipède de Drais à Michaux 1817-1870: Mythes et réalités. Tokyo: Bicycle culture center 1993.
• Hans-Erhard Lessing Automobilität – Karl Drais und die unglaublichen Anfänge. Leipzig: Maxime Verlag 2003.
• Michael Rauck Karl Freiherr Drais von Sauerbronn: Erfinder und Unternehmer (1785 - 1851). Stuttgart: Steiner 1983.
• Heinz Schmitt Karl Friedrich Drais von Sauerbronn: 1785-1851 ; ein badischer Erfinder; Ausstellung zu seinem 200. Geburtstag; Stadtgeschichte im Prinz-Max-Palais, Karlsruhe, 9. März-26. Mai 1985; Städt. Reiss-Museum Mannheim, 5. Juli-18. August 1985. Karlsruhe: Stadtarchiv, 1985.

Weblinks

• Artikel in der Allgemeinen Deutschen Biographie von Moritz Cantor
• karl-drais.de des ADFC Mannheim
• www.karldrais.de von S. Fink und H. E. Lessing
• Karl Drais in Baden-Baden von Hans-Erhard Lessing