On January 6, 1863, James Plimpton received U.S. Patent No. 37305 on a Parlor Skate:

While the first patented roller skate was introduced in 1760 by Belgian inventor John Joseph Merlin, lacking the ability to steer or stop, they never gained popularity. 100 years later, James Plimpton’s skate used a four-wheel configuration for stability and were easier to use. driving huge popularity of roller skating in the 1860s and 1870s that spread to Europe and around the world.

Plimpton also opened some of the earliest roller skating rinks in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island, and established the first formal roller skating club. He continued to invent improvements in roller skates, including Improved Skate in 1866 (U.S. Patent No. 55901), and a Roller-Skate in 1908 45 years after his first roller skate patent (U.S. Patent No. 906281).

Plimpton’s son, Henry Richardson Plimpton, 2nd, carried on the family interest in roller skating, receiving U.S. Patent No. 876,836 on an Antifriction-Bearing on January 14, 1908.