a Continuum of engineering excellence from Scotland

The son of John Boyd Dunlop riding the first bicycle with inflatable tyres designed and fitted by his father.

The son of John Boyd Dunlop riding the first bicycle with inflatable tyres designed and fitted by his father.

John Boyd Dunlop

1840 – 1921

John Boyd Dunlop

Inventor whose pneumatic tyres accelerated cycling and motor transport.

Engineering Achievements

Dunlop's independent re-invention of the pneumatic tyre led to his becoming the co-founder of the company that bore his name and was to become a global corporation. 

The commercial production of pneumatic tyres at scale revolutionized cycling and later contributed greatly to the rapid development of the motor car.

His Life

  1. 1840 Born in Dreghorn Ayrshire on 5th February to John Dunlop, farmer, and Agnes Boyd
  2. 1859 Age: 19 Graduated from William Dick's Veterinary College (now University of Edinburgh) and practised as a vet in Edinburgh for 8 years
  3. 1867 Age: 27 Moved to Downpatrick in Ireland (now Northern Ireland) to create a joint practice with his brother James
  4. 1871 Age: 31 Married Margaret Stevenson
  5. 1887 Age: 47 Developed the first practical pneumatic or inflatable tyre for his son's tricycle, and tested it in Cherryvale sports ground, South Belfast.
  6. 1888 Age: 48 Applied for a patent for his pneumatic tyre on 23 July, granted 7 December.
  7. 1889 Age: 49 On 18 May Willie Hume, the captain of the 'Belfast Cruisers Cycling Club', demonstrated the supremacy of Dunlop's newly invented pneumatic tyres by winning all four cycling events at the Queen's College Sports in Belfast.
  8. 1889 Age: 49 With (William) Harvey Du Cros, then president of the Irish Cyclists' Association, refloated the business of Booth Brothers, cycle and agricultural implement agents, of Dublin, as the Pneumatic Tyre and Booth's Cycle Agency
  9. 1889 Age: 49 Dunlop made over his patent to Du Cros for £300 and took 3000 £1 shares in the company.
  10. 1890 Age: 50 The1888 Dunlop patent was declared invalid due to Robert William Thomson (1822–1873) having patented the same concept in France in 1846 and in the US in 1847.
  11. 1891 Age: 51 Du Cros purchased a patent for the way the tyre was attached to the wheel rim, and employed the inventor, Charles Kingston Welch.
  12. 1896 Age: 56 Dunlop took no further part when Du Cros sold the company to a group for £3 million, Du Cros subsequently participating in its reflotation as the Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company and as joint managing director with his son, Arthur.
  13. 1921 Age: 81 Died in Dublin on 23 October, and buried in Deans Grange Cemetery. Wealth at death £9687 6s (£414k in 2025).

His Legacy

Dunlop’s re-invention of the pneumatic tyre was a crucial enabler in the development of cycling, and then motor transport. 

Although John Boyd Dunlop took no part in the company he co-founded after 1896, it prospered under the Du Cros family who retained the Dunlop brand.

Despite the prior patent of Robert William Thomson, John Boyd Dunlop is recognised worldwide as the inventor of commercially successful rubber tyres and as the progenitor of the Dunlop Rubber Company.

Dunlop's image appears on the Northern Bank £10 note in circulation in Northern Ireland.

More Information

Oxford Dixtionary of National Biography entry (full text available to subscribers and UK library members). B.W. Best, revised T. Williams, 2004.

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  • The first pneumatic bicycle tyre produced by John Boyd Dunlop. National Museum of Scotland.

    The first pneumatic bicycle tyre produced by John Boyd Dunlop. National Museum of Scotland.

  • John Dunlop (r) with his son John. 

    John Dunlop (r) with his son John. 

  • John Boyd Dunlop (c 1915)

    John Boyd Dunlop (c 1915)

  • Plaque in Upper Stephen Street, Dublin, at the site of the world's first pneumatic tyre factory, now demolished.

    Plaque in Upper Stephen Street, Dublin, at the site of the world's first pneumatic tyre factory, now demolished.

  • Dunlop Plaque in May Street, Belfast

    Dunlop Plaque in May Street, Belfast

  • Share of the Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company Ltd., issued 23. May 1912

    Share of the Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company Ltd., issued 23. May 1912

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