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E.J. Pennington is probably best known today for his pioneering motorcycles. [3] He is sometimes credited with having invented the word " motorcycle "; he used the term as early as 1893. Pennington built and demonstrated his original motorcycle design in Milwaukee in 1895.
- E.J. Pennington: An Indiana Inventor
- E.J. Pennington: A Questionable Businessman
- E.J. Pennington: A Passion For Patents
- How Did E.J. Pennington Impact The Motorcycle Industry?
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Edward Joel (E.J.) Pennington was born in Moore’s Hill, Indiana, in 1858. Known for being an inventor and a promoter of many mechanical devices, Pennington’s early years in the state of Indiana sent him toward automobile and motorcycle fame.
While Pennington had a knack for inventions and business, his integrity was less than admirable. Rather, his career began as a “get-rich-quick” adventure where he promoted his inventions with grandiose claims. He first developed his ambitious social engineering skills in small Hoosier towns, where he conned people into investing in dud companies. P...
For all his character flaws and questionable morals, no one can deny that E.J. Pennington was “an erratic genius who perhaps lived too soon.” Pennington possessed a passion for machines, going on to develop over two dozen patents. In addition to motor vehicles, he received patents for Stirling engines, ignition systems, planing machines, and pulley...
Pennington’s testing and showcasing of prototypes in Milwaukee happened to catch the eye of William Harley and Arthur Davidson, who later established the Harley-Davidson motorcycle company. Additionally, Henry Ford took an interest in Pennington’s automotive prototypes, later creating an engine similar to Pennington’s. Edward Joel Pennington’s name...
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Aug 31, 2020 · Edward Joel “E.J.” Pennington’s clothes were fancy, his tastes expensive, and he regularly received “fake” telegrams from wealthy men begging him to let them invest with him. He was fond of summoning all of the men of influence in a small city and making impressive presentations to them. He could perform just enough real-world engineering…
Although the word originally appeared as a company designation, Pennington also promoted the term to encompass cycles with motors. He showcased his motorcycle prototypes at various exhibitions in places such as Chicago and New York around 1895 to garner interest for investment opportunities in more dud companies.
Jul 9, 2022 · E.J. Pennington’s motocycle was among the first gasoline-powered two-wheelers in the USA, and was patented the next year (1896). Steam cycles had been built since 1867, first by Sylvester H. Roper, and then by others, and the invention of the Otto engine (using gasoline) spurred new designs like this.
Oct 3, 2021 · Pennington built and demonstrated his original motorcycle design in Milwaukee in 1895. Pennington submitted two documents detailing his versions of early motorcycles and he was awarded a patent for the "Motor Vehicle (motorcycle) with patent number; 574262 issued December 29, 1896.
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E.J. Pennington is probably best known today for his pioneering motorcycles. [3] He is sometimes credited with having invented the word "motorcycle"; he used the term as early as 1893. Pennington built and demonstrated his original motorcycle design in Milwaukee in 1895.
