On August 13, 1889, Samuel L. Allen received U.S. Patent No. 408681 on a Sled:

This was no ordinary sled — it was the Flexible Flyer!

Samuel Leeds Allen, born May 5, 1841, was the was the founder of S.L. Allen & Company of Philadelphia. He invented the Flexible Flyer sled and Planet Jr farm and garden equipment. Allen was awarded nearly 300 patents for a wide range of farming machinery, including the fertilizer drill, seed drill, potato digger, cultivator, furrower, pulverizer, grass edger and many other farm implements. To provide year-round employment for his workers producing farm equipment, Allen sought to create a winter product. His interest in sledding led him to invent and patent a series of sleds and sled improvements, including U.S. Patent No. 381,655, dated April 24, 1888, and U.S. Patent No. 797,165, dated August 15, 1905.

Samuel Leeds Allen, born May 5, 1841, was the was the founder of S.L. Allen & Company of Philadelphia. He invented the Flexible Flyer sled and Planet Jr farm and garden equipment. Allen was awarded nearly 300 patents for a wide range of farming machinery, including the fertilizer drill, seed drill, potato digger, cultivator, furrower, pulverizer, grass edger and many other farm implements. To provide year-round employment for his workers producing farm equipment, Allen sought to create a winter product. His interest in sledding led him to invent and patent a series of sleds and sled improvements, including U.S. Patent No. 381,655, dated April 24, 1888, and U.S. Patent No. 797,165, dated August 15, 1905.