The inventor of roller skates was from Huy

HUY • Jean Merlin (1735-1803), ingenious inventor Born in Huy in 1735, Jean Merlin settled in London in 1759. This inventor is recognized as a pioneer in the development of roller skates... UNTIL 1987, THE PEOPLE OF HUY were unaware that one of their own had invented the roller skate. Indeed! If the Guinness Book is to be believed, the roller skate was designed in the 18th century by Jean-Joseph Merlin, from Huy... In 1988, in volume XLII of the annals of the Cercle des Sciences et Beaux-Arts, Pierre Bauwens devoted an article to the brilliant inventor Jean Merlin. "An article that is the result of a happy coincidence," explains archivist Pierre Bauwens. "In 1985, the Iveagh Bequest Museum, Kenwood, organized an exhibition on the occasion of which a luxurious catalog was published: John Joseph Merlin, the ingenious mechanik. It turned out that Jean Joseph Merlin had indeed been born in Huy, in 1735." The Merlins in Huy Indeed, Jean Joseph Merlin was born and baptized in Huy, at Saint-Pierre church on September 6, 1735. His father, Maximilien, was born in Cambrai. It is unknown when he came to settle in Huy. He appears for the first time on the occasion of his marriage at Saint-Denis church, on January 27, 1732. His maternal grandfather was a master locksmith who, at that time, had acquired great fame in Huy. Around the age of 19 (1754), Jean Joseph's presence is definitively recorded in Paris, where he would reside for six years. In the French capital, he began to make his way in the circle of mechanics specialists. He was involved in the manufacture of musical instruments and addressed one of the inventions he would establish in London: "the armchair... for those suffering from gout in their legs." Jean Joseph Merlin must have impressed the Académie des Sciences, as it was upon its recommendation that the Count of Fuentes, a generous patron of mechanics and Spanish ambassador to England, took him along as a staff member to the British capital. The roller skate Jean Joseph Merlin arrived in the English metropolis on May 24, 1760, at the age of 24. At that time, he was completely ignorant of the country's language, but he learned it very quickly, speaking it as early as 1763. However, he would never express himself in perfect English, although he was capable, at least by 1775, of conversing pleasantly in the parlors of the London gentry. "As early as 1763, when the French astronomer Lalande visited London where he had friendly contacts with Merlin, the latter was certainly engaged in a prestigious task: the mechanical finishing of a large barrel organ for the Princess of Wales; this horological task was probably obtained thanks to the influence of the Count of Fuentes, whose protégé he was," explains Pierre Bauwens. "Merlin worked successively for the goldsmiths Sutton and Cox, not as an ordinary employee but as a mechanical specialist retained for specific work." Kirby writes that, "shortly after his arrival in England, Jean Joseph Merlin became the leading or chief mechanic of the Cox Museum in Spring-Gardens, a position he left in 1773." Merlin is often cited today as a pioneer in the development of roller skates. "In fact, the idea probably originated in Holland around 1700, and the first remembered use of them in England dates to 1743," explains Pierre Bauwens. "In reality, until the 1820s-1830s, roller skates were considered toys, their use remained confined to theatrical productions, and they were occasionally presented in exhibitions. That is undoubtedly how Merlin viewed them." Before 1772, Jean Joseph Merlin appeared at a masquerade at Mrs. Cornelys' (Carlisle House, Soho Square), mounted on a pair of skates and playing the violin. However, unable to brake his speed or steer his direction, he crashed into a mirror valued at over 500 pounds, smashed his musical instrument to pieces, and injured himself severely. This unfortunate adventure turned Merlin away from roller skating. [Drawing: IF THEY HAD LISTENED TO ME, THE PEOPLE OF HUY WOULD NO LONGER HAVE MOBILITY PROBLEMS...] A brilliant, generous, and refined inventor A mechanic of extraordinary skill, Jean Joseph Merlin produced musical instruments, clocks, and automatons... MERLIN combined the activities of a clockmaker and musical instrument maker. However, he viewed himself primarily as a maker of mathematical instruments. As an inventor, he pursued an independent career, initially alongside his collaboration with Cox and then entirely on his own. Before this date, Merlin seems to have already worked on a piano-harpsichord, a composite musical instrument that he would later improve. In 1773, he perfected a "Dutch roasting jack," a combination of a mechanical spit-turner with a reflector, an innovation that increased the heat inside the device. "He would then develop his armchair for gout sufferers or invalid chair, surely derived from Grollier's, which has survived in principle to this day," mentions Pierre Bauwens. "The same probably applies to his trebuchet balance, invented in 1781. An elegant clock made as early as 1776, completely original, places Merlin in the class of the best specialists in this field." Thus from 1775, Jean Joseph moved in elegant society, for pleasure but also to find clients. He introduced himself, notably by tuning pianos and cheerfully participating in masquerades. In 1783, Merlin established himself at 11 Princes Street, Hanover Square, where he opened the "Merlin's Mechanical Exhibition," later called the "Merlin's Mechanical." A crowd of curiosities from various branches of mechanics could be seen there, a mixture of objects made to be admired by the curious and others intended for sale. Notable among them were numerous automatons (he had developed some for Cox), all endowed with movement and frequently incorporating a musical element. "Regarding practical objects, one could find at the museum chairs for gout sufferers, 'Sanctorius' scales, trebuchet balances, tea tables whose top, driven by an ingenious mechanism, rotated around an axis, allowing tea cups to be filled easily, devices for sealing letters, clocks, a machine to help the blind play whist, a family telegraph system...," mentions Pierre Bauwens. "In addition, there were musical instruments, some playing automatically and others not, which bridged the gap between objects to view and those for sale. The museum soon became the single central hub of Merlin's activities." A generous man "In the 1790s, Merlin's health began to fail. It continued to decline until his death on May 4, 1803," Pierre Bauwens adds. "At first sight, he was an eccentric, if not frivolous, man." In fact, an obituary notice published shortly after in the May 1803 edition of the Gentleman's Magazine sheds light on the man's deep nature: "of an active disposition, he scarcely left a moment unemployed. His good qualities as a man will long be remembered by those who knew him. Of a somewhat impetuous generosity, he showed great interest in his inferiors." ❶ Annales du Cercle Hutois des Sciences et Beaux-Arts, Volume XLII (1988), Jean Joseph Merlin, born in Huy, brilliant inventor in London (1735-1803), Pierre Bauwens. His granddaddy too Merlin's maternal grandfather, Gabriel Le Vasseur, was well known in Huy and the surrounding region. In 1706, he was tasked with various ironwork tasks for the Castle of Waleffe, then under construction. This work must have been appreciated, for in 1708 he was commissioned to forge the "great balustrade" of the staircase of honor, based on a design by the French ornamentist Daniel Marot, then based in the Netherlands. In 1718, Le Vasseur executed a tabernacle for the high altar of the collegiate church of Huy, as well as a bronze eagle lectern that Saumery judged to be "of the ultimate delicacy." In 1717-18, he was called to Liège to work at the city hall, where he crafted interior hardware. In 1724, he was again called upon by the chapter of Huy. He repaired the reliquary shrine of Saint Mengold. But above all, he crafted a choir screen of iron and gilded brass. In 1733, he produced what remains his great work for us: the canopy of the Bassina, which the city was then restoring and updating to current tastes. ❶ Source: Jacques Comenne, Jean-Joseph Merlin's maternal grandfather: Gabriel Le Vasseur, master locksmith in Huy in the 18th century.