John Joseph Merlin

Jean -Joseph Merlin ( born September 17, 1735 in Huy, † May 4, 1803 in London), also known in English-speaking John Joseph Merlin, was a Belgian designer. He is generally regarded as the inventor of the first historically documented skate, even though reports on the attachment of wheels or rollers of shoes also from before its development are known. It is narrated that he in 1760 at the screening of his invention during a ball of the English royal house severely injured, as he drove lack of suitable braking devices in a large mirror.

Apart from the development of the skate, he occupied himself in his younger years occasionally also in Paris alive, mainly with the design and construction of mechanical musical instruments, watches and other precision instruments. In 1760 he settled in London. Its most important development in the field of musical instruments was a patented by him in 1774, the mechanism by which could be the harpsichord, a keyboard instrument with tone by plucking of strings expanded with the string stopper used in pianofortes. With this invention, the use of both techniques in the same instrument was possible.

In the field of watchmaking, he was involved among others, along with the English watchmaker James Cox in the development of designated as Cox's clock first atmospheric clock. In addition, he developed the mechanics for the products manufactured by James Cox Silver Swan, a vending machine, which is presently located in the English Bowes Museum. His other inventions included, among other things, a tea table, was distributed automatically from a samovar on the table in the middle of the tea by rotation in twelve standing in a circle cups, one instrument for testing the gold content of coins and a steerable wheel chair.

A part of his development he exhibited in London in Merlin 's Mechanical Museum, which was about 1783 to 1808.