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Events on Thursday 12 June 1817 1
1817Karl Drais Debuts the DraisineGerman inventor rides an early two-wheeled steerable machineOn June 12, 1817, Karl von Drais rode his new steerable, two-wheeled riding machine, the Laufmaschine or draisine, on a public road near Mannheim. Riders straddled the wooden frame and pushed off the ground with their feet, since it had no pedals. The invention is widely regarded as the direct ancestor of the modern bicycle.