Marvelous Rocking Chair History

Though many credit Benjamin Franklin as the rocking chairs inventor we dont actually know who created it.

Rocking chair history. It arrived in England shortly after its development although work continued in America. There were many other variations invented. In 1860 a German craftsman named Michael Thonet created the first bentwood rocking chair by steaming pieces of wood to effectively shape the rocking chairs rocker into its graceful swoop.

Rocking cradles were used in Europe before the Middle Ages according to Van Dykes Restorers in Missouri and rocking horses were popularized during the Victorian era but rocking chairs originated in America and were advanced by the American Shakers a group that created some of the best chairs on the market. The definition first appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1787. The first rocking chair was invented in 1710 by tying two ice skates to the bottom of a chair but it wasnt till 1787 that rocking chair finally entered the Oxford English Dictionary for Usage.

The design of the rocking chair was inspired by rocking cradles that date back to ancient times and the rocking horses that originated in the Middle Ages. The Devils Rocking Chair played a role in one of the most famous possession cases of all time that of Arne Cheyenne Johnson who claimed that he killed his landlord under demonic influence. It was in 1725 that early rocking chairs first appeared in England.

Nicholas Claudius and Adam Collignon invented the folding rocking chair March 10 1868. Since the 18th century rocking chairs have graced porches front lawns patios decks and the corners of a nursery or living room. The idea most likely came from the cradle which dates back to the 16th century and the rocking horse which dates back to the 18th century both in Europe.

Historians can only trace the rocking chairs origins to North America during the early 18th century. Rocking chairs were an American standard in homes of the mid 1700s and were also being used in many institutional settings as well. Rocking chairs are thought to have first entered the market in 1710 in Europe.

They were originally designed for hospitals to help new mothers calm their babies. The Devils Rocking Chair was recently purchased by Zak Bagans the man from the paranormal series Ghost Adventures. For 1stdibs Witold Rybczynski an architect and author of the book Now I Sit Me Down writes that the rocking chair is largely a New World creation though it was inspired by rocking cradles that date back to ancient times according to Walls With Stories.