Matthew A. Cherry
Passenger Velocipede | Buillth — Never Forget
ARCHIVE NO. 022
One person supplying the power. Three or more people making the journey. In 1888, Matthew A. Cherry patented a passenger velocipede that brought foot-powered transportation together with sprung seating and a protective folding canopy. His design asked a practical question: how could one rider carry others along?
Who Was Matthew A. Cherry?
Matthew A. Cherry was a Black inventor whose work included improvements to passenger transportation. His patent filings identify him as a resident of Washington, D.C. Although accounts of his personal life are limited, his surviving patents provide concrete records of the machines he designed.
For the Buillth archive, those documents are the starting point: his name, his work, and the ideas he put on record.
The Invention That Changed Everything
On May 8, 1888, Cherry received U.S. Patent No. 382,351 for improvements to a velocipede—a human-powered wheeled vehicle.
His design placed the operator between passenger seats at the front and rear. Foot-operated treadles worked a cranked rear axle, while a steering handle controlled the front axle through connecting links. Sprung passenger platforms, footrests, an adjustable operator’s seat, and a folding awning addressed more than movement alone. They also addressed the experience of the people riding aboard.
Cherry later turned his attention to another transportation problem. On January 1, 1895, he received U.S. Patent No. 531,908 for improvements to streetcar fenders. This design used a projecting platform, protective cushioning, and springs, with the stated aim of protecting a person struck by a moving vehicle. It was a pedestrian-protection device, rather than simply a shield against damage to the streetcar.
What History Did To His Name
Cherry is frequently described as the inventor of the tricycle. That familiar headline overlooks an important distinction: tricycles existed before his 1888 patent. The Science Museum records a Coventry tricycle patented in 1876. Cherry’s documented contribution was his particular improved velocipede design.
Recognizing his work means preserving that distinction. His place in the archive does not depend on assigning him every invention that followed.
The record gives us something worth remembering: a named inventor working through specific problems of movement, passenger accommodation, and protection.
Why It Still Matters
An invention deserves attention for the thinking it records, even when its commercial history remains uncertain.
Cherry’s designs invite us to look beyond the familiar object and examine the decisions behind it. Who supplies the power? Where do passengers sit? How are they sheltered? How might someone outside a moving vehicle be protected?
Those questions belong to the history of engineering. Matthew A. Cherry’s name belongs there too.
Explore the Buillth Matthew A. Cherry design. Wear the name. Pass on the story.
Matthew A. Cherry is part of the Buillth Never Forget collection. His story is on the shirt. Now you know.
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