Ice skating was first developed in Northern Europe. The first skate blades were small animal bones with the joints cut off and ground down to make smooth runners. They were attached to feet with leather straps.
Finnish people strapped animal bones to their feet around 5,000 years ago to glide across frozen lakes rather than walk around them. This was important for the Finns to save energy in harsh winter conditions when hunting in Finnish Lakeland. Scientists believe they might have also used wooden poles to propel themselves forward.
The earliest known skate to use a metal blade was found in Scandinavia. Dated to 200 A.D, it was fitted with a thin strip of copper folded and attached to the underside of a leather shoe.
Wooden skates were first used in 14th-century Holland, where the network of canals formed "highways" over which skaters traveled during the winter.
Ice skates have narrow pieces of metal on the bottom of the boots called blades. The figure skaters glide across the ice by sliding on their blades. The Dutch added in the 15th century a double-edged blade to the bottom of ice skates, which meant poles were no longer necessary. Skaters could propel themselves by pushing and gliding with their feet.
A woodcut printed in Holland in 1498 is the oldest portrayal of skating. It pictures an accident on the ice; the victim of the mishap, a girl of 15 - was to become the patron saint of all skaters, St Lidwina.
Though skating was first developed in north Europe, the first skates with iron blades were made in Scotland in 1572.
King Charles II of England learned skating while in exile in Holland and, on his return home, brought with him the Dutch skate. John Evelyn in his Memoirs recalled in an entry for December 1, 1662 about his admiration on seeing "on the new canal in St James Park. . . the strange and wonderful dexterity of the sliders... after the manner of Hollanders" - "with what swiftness they passe, how suddenly they stop in full carriere upon the ice."
The poet William Wordsworth was an ardent skater who is said always to have been the first on the ice and to have been so expert in its art that he could cut his name with skates.
In 1848 Edward W. Bushnell of Philadelphia invented the first all-metal skates (with blades of hard steel). This type of skate eliminated the cumbersome wooden footplate. To begin with, his skates still used straps - at times as many as four. However, eventually Bushnell discarded them and manufactured skates that were fastened to the boot by clamps, selling his invention at $30 a pair. This more secure method of fastening made more elaborate moves possible and enabled ice dancing.
American ballet dancer and figure skater Jackson Haines (1840–1875) developed a special skate in the mid 1860s, which could be screwed directly onto his boots. This added stability and allowed him to accomplish new skating moves, jumps, and spins. The typical practice of the time was to strap the blades onto the boot. A few years later, Haines added the toe pick to his skates, which allowed him to master all sorts of new leaps and jumps.
Modern roller skates was the invention of James L Plympton, who opened the first rink at Newport, Rhode Island, in 1866.
Sources Europress Encyclopedia, Comptons Encyclopedia, Mental Floss, Wonderopolis
Finnish people strapped animal bones to their feet around 5,000 years ago to glide across frozen lakes rather than walk around them. This was important for the Finns to save energy in harsh winter conditions when hunting in Finnish Lakeland. Scientists believe they might have also used wooden poles to propel themselves forward.
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| bone skates on display at the Museum of London. By Steven G. Johnson |
The earliest known skate to use a metal blade was found in Scandinavia. Dated to 200 A.D, it was fitted with a thin strip of copper folded and attached to the underside of a leather shoe.
Wooden skates were first used in 14th-century Holland, where the network of canals formed "highways" over which skaters traveled during the winter.
Ice skates have narrow pieces of metal on the bottom of the boots called blades. The figure skaters glide across the ice by sliding on their blades. The Dutch added in the 15th century a double-edged blade to the bottom of ice skates, which meant poles were no longer necessary. Skaters could propel themselves by pushing and gliding with their feet.
A woodcut printed in Holland in 1498 is the oldest portrayal of skating. It pictures an accident on the ice; the victim of the mishap, a girl of 15 - was to become the patron saint of all skaters, St Lidwina.
Though skating was first developed in north Europe, the first skates with iron blades were made in Scotland in 1572.
King Charles II of England learned skating while in exile in Holland and, on his return home, brought with him the Dutch skate. John Evelyn in his Memoirs recalled in an entry for December 1, 1662 about his admiration on seeing "on the new canal in St James Park. . . the strange and wonderful dexterity of the sliders... after the manner of Hollanders" - "with what swiftness they passe, how suddenly they stop in full carriere upon the ice."
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| Hendrick Avercamp - A Scene on the Ice |
The poet William Wordsworth was an ardent skater who is said always to have been the first on the ice and to have been so expert in its art that he could cut his name with skates.
In 1848 Edward W. Bushnell of Philadelphia invented the first all-metal skates (with blades of hard steel). This type of skate eliminated the cumbersome wooden footplate. To begin with, his skates still used straps - at times as many as four. However, eventually Bushnell discarded them and manufactured skates that were fastened to the boot by clamps, selling his invention at $30 a pair. This more secure method of fastening made more elaborate moves possible and enabled ice dancing.
American ballet dancer and figure skater Jackson Haines (1840–1875) developed a special skate in the mid 1860s, which could be screwed directly onto his boots. This added stability and allowed him to accomplish new skating moves, jumps, and spins. The typical practice of the time was to strap the blades onto the boot. A few years later, Haines added the toe pick to his skates, which allowed him to master all sorts of new leaps and jumps.
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| Tube skate |
Modern roller skates was the invention of James L Plympton, who opened the first rink at Newport, Rhode Island, in 1866.
Sources Europress Encyclopedia, Comptons Encyclopedia, Mental Floss, Wonderopolis
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