Matthew A. Cherry born February 5, 1834, in Washington D.C. invented several devices that helped revolutionize the transportation industry. Cherry is known for his improvement on the velocipede, inventing both the tricycle and the streetcar fender.
Cherry improvement on the velocipede was a precursor to the modern-day bicycle. It consisted of a metal seat frame with wheels attached. Riders were able to use their feet along the ground to propel the frame. Before pedals, this was a fast method to travel around town.
On May 8, 1888, Cherry received a patented for the tricycle. Today tricycles are still utilized by many who are opposed to bicycles. In many Asian countries, motorized tricycles are one of the primary methods of transportation, used for transporting passengers and goods.
On January 1, 1895, Cherry received a patent for the streetcar fender. Before this device was developed, streetcars would become incredibly damaged when they collided with other objects, often leading to significant repairs. Cherry recognized this problem, and invented the fender, which is a piece of metal that attaches to the front of a streetcar and acts as a shock absorber. This can protect the front of the car from needing extensive repairs, and absorb some of the impact from the collision, which can potentially protect passengers from injury. Today, the streetcar fender in some form is used on almost every automobile manufactured anywhere in the world and is commonly referred to as a “bumper.”
Matthew Cherry seems to have disappeared from the public record. There is no information available on him after January 1, 1895, the date he received the patent for the streetcar fender. He was 61 at that time.
