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1845: Robert W. Thompson, a Scottish engineer, receives a British patent for his new carriage tire. It has an inner tube inflated with air, which is encased inside a heavy rubber tire stretched around the rims. Behold the world's first pneumatic tire.

Thompson's design was an improvement over the solid rubber tires that had been around for a while. It reduced vibration, which made for a smoother ride and improved traction.

But his tire was not a commercial success, since it preceded the existence of both the bicycle and automobile. Thompson's tire was made for horse-drawn carriages but never really caught on and eventually it faded from the scene.

It would be another 40 years before the pneumatic tire reappeared, this time "reinvented" by John Boyd Dunlop, who claimed later to have no knowledge of Thompson's work. The timing was right for Dunlop; the bicycle was popular and his tire did a lot to enhance that popularity, again by providing a much smoother ride.

Dunlop's tire remained the industry standard for half a century, until the appearance of the bias ply tire.