August Schrader

August Schrader (* around 1820 in Germany; † after 1896 ) invented in 1849 a copper diving helmet, 1891, the Schrader valve for pneumatic tires and 1896 the valve cap.

As a mechanic, he emigrated in 1840 from Hanover to the U.S. after New York. A year earlier, Goodyear had patented the vulcanization of rubber. In the spring of 1844, Schrader had saved enough money to buy some equipment and to open a store in the 115 John Street in Manhattan. He established daguerreotype apparatus and soon went into a partnership with Christian Baecher a spin.

In 1845 he drove fittings and valves for rubber products of the Goodyear brothers. As he watched divers, he thought about an improvement in the diver helmets and produced in 1849 two copper helmets, which he sold to the Union India Rubber Co. for $ 12.00 each. The following year, he developed an air pump for wet suits. An improved version he put out in 1856 at the Industrial Fair in the Crystal Palace.

In 1890 his son George with one in the business.

Around this time, according to a bicycle race at Niagara Falls, won in the English driver with its air-filled tires, there was a need for a bicycle valve, which he produced in 1891. In 1896 he patented the valve cap and introduced valves for car tires.