<P> Roller skating is the traveling on surfaces with roller skates . It is a form of recreational activity as well as a sport, and can also be a form of transportation . Skates generally come in three basic varieties: quad roller skates, inline skates or blades and tri-skates, though some have experimented with a single - wheeled "quintessence skate" or other variations on the basic skate design . In America, this hobby was most popular, first between 1935 and the early 1960s and then in the 1970s, when polyurethane wheels were created and disco music oriented roller rinks were the rage and then again in the 1990s when in - line outdoor roller skating, thanks to the improvement made to inline roller skates in 1981 by Scott Olson, took hold . </P> <Ul> <Li> 1743: First recorded use of roller skates, in a London stage performance . The inventor of this skate is unknown . </Li> <Li> 1760: First recorded skate invention, by John Joseph Merlin, who created a primitive inline skate with small metal wheels . </Li> <Li> 1818: Roller skates appeared on the ballet stage in Berlin . </Li> <Li> 1819: First patented roller skate design, in France by M. Petitbled . These early skates were similar to today's inline skates, but they were not very maneuverable . It was difficult with these skates to do anything but move in a straight line and perhaps make wide sweeping turns . </Li> <Li> Rest of the 19th century: inventors continued to work on improving skate design . </Li> <Li> 1823: Robert John Tyers of London patented a skate called the Rolito . This skate had five wheels in a single row on the bottom of a shoe or boot . </Li> <Li> 1857: Finally, roller skating had gained enough momentum to warrant the opening of the first public skating rinks . The Strand, London and Floral Hall had these first roller rinks . </Li> <Li> 1863: The four - wheeled turning roller skate, or quad skate, with four wheels set in two side - by - side pairs (front and rear), was first designed, in New York City by James Leonard Plimpton in an attempt to improve upon previous designs . The skate contained a pivoting action using a rubber cushion that allowed the skater to skate a curve just by pressing his weight to one side or the other, most commonly by leaning to one side . It was a huge success, so much so that the first public roller skating rinks were opened in 1866, first in New York City by Plimpton in his furniture store and then in Newport, Rhode Island with the support of Plimpton . The design of the quad skate allowed easier turns and maneuverability, and the quad skate came to dominate the industry for more than a century . </Li> <Li> 1875 Roller skating rink in Plymouth, England held its first competition .) </Li> <Li> 1876: William Brown in Birmingham, England, patented a design for the wheels of roller skates . Brown's design embodied his effort to keep the two bearing surfaces of an axle, fixed and moving, apart . Brown worked closely with Joseph Henry Hughes, who drew up the patent for a ball or roller bearing race for bicycle and carriage wheels in 1877 . Hughes' patent included all the elements of an adjustable system . These two men are thus responsible for modern roller skate and skateboard wheels, as well as the ball bearing race inclusion in velocipedes--later to become motorbikes and automobiles . This was arguably the most important advance in the realistic use of roller skates as a pleasurable pastime . </Li> </Ul> <Li> 1743: First recorded use of roller skates, in a London stage performance . The inventor of this skate is unknown . </Li> <Li> 1760: First recorded skate invention, by John Joseph Merlin, who created a primitive inline skate with small metal wheels . </Li>

Where did roller skating begin and in what year did it begin
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