INVENTORS HALL OF FAME
Allen
Patent No. 408,681 Flexible Flyer Sled
Samuel Leeds Allen was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 5, 1841. At age 11, he was sent to a Quaker boarding school, where he graduated in 1859. Following his schooling, Allen moved to his father's farm in New Jersey to learn the techniques of farming. It was there he created farming equipment from his own designs.
By 1881, Allen established his own company for manufacturing and selling his tools across the United States and Europe. Spawned from his agricultural inventions were different types of sleds, including his successful Flexible Flyer design, whose sole purpose rested in wintertime recreation.
Allen's previous sleds were essentially bobsleds and used a double pair of runners, the small sizes of which made the sled difficult to steer. Determined to create a sled that would be easier to control, Allen settled upon a design that utilized a single pair of T-shaped runners in cross-section, which were flexible and allowed the rider to better control the sled. This sled was dubbed "The Flexible Flyer" by Allen.
Samuel Allen died on November 26, 1918. Although his original company would be sold to the Los Angeles-based Leisure Group in 1968, and further manufacture of the sled was entrusted to Blazon, Inc. in 1973, production of the Flexible Flyer sled continues to this day.
The above information was supplied by the National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc., Room 1D01-Crystal Plaza 3, 2021 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, Virginia 22202. Videotapes and printed materials are currently available. For more information, visit the Foundation's web site at: http://www.invent.org
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