Dunlop, John Boyd (1840-1921), a Scottish veterinarian, improved on the pneumatic (air-filled) tire that Robert W. Thomson had invented. Dunlop first made his tires to replace solid rubber ones on his son’s tricycle so it would ride more comfortably. Dunlop’s tire was tested and patented in Great Britain in 1888 and in the United States in 1890. It quickly became widely used on bicycles and automobiles.
