Stephan Farffler was a German watchmaker and inventor, born in 1633 in Altdorf bei Nurnberg and died there or in Nurnberg in 1689. Paralyzed from the hips down after a childhood accident, he built a three-wheeled manumotive carriage in 1655 that is widely considered the first self-propelled wheelchair, propelled by hand cranks connected to the front wheel; the design is thought to have influenced the later development of tricycles and bicycles. He also worked on clockwork mechanisms, designing a device to rotate an hourglass at set intervals and adding chimes to the clocktower of Altdorf bei Nurnberg.
Facts
FAQs
What do the sources say about Stephan Farffler's disability?
Sources disagree: paralysis from the hips down after a childhood accident, or possibly amputation.
Accounts differ. One description says Farffler was either a paraplegic or an amputee. According to the German astronomer Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr, he suffered an accident at the age of three that paralyzed him from the hips down, while others described him as having crippled legs. His manumotive carriage of 1655 is widely considered to have been the first self-propelled wheelchair.
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Sources
1. Stephan Farffler biography (Wikipedia)
Lead paragraph, death year
Stephan Farffler (1633, October 24, 1689), sometimes spelled Stephan Farfler, was a German watchmaker of the seventeenth century
Lead paragraph, nationality
was a German watchmaker of the seventeenth century
Lead paragraph, alternate spelling
sometimes spelled Stephan Farfler
In Group: Cycle and Personal Vehicle Inventors, Lead sentence
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.
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