Wheelchairs are a major advance in enabling independence for people with walking difficulties. The first self-propelled wheelchair has been attributed to John Joseph Merlin, the 'ingenious mechanick', in the early 19th century and his 'gouty chair' is exhibited at Kenwood House. Research would suggest that comparable chairs existed in France as early as 1751 and the French Revolutionary, Georges Couthon, used one to get around Paris. A later design, also attributed to Merlin, the invalid wheelchair, features large wheels with outer hoops for the occupant to grasp and this is the true ancestor of the modern wheelchair.
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机译：轮椅是使行走困难的人能够独立的一大进步。第一款自行式轮椅归功于19世纪初期的“精明技工”约翰·约瑟夫·梅林（John Joseph Merlin），他的“古蒂椅”在Kenwood House展出。研究表明，类似的椅子早在1751年就已在法国存在，法国革命家乔治·库森（Georges Couthon）曾用它来绕过巴黎。后来的设计也归功于无效的轮椅Merlin，其特征是带有外圈的大车轮供乘员抓住，这是现代轮椅的真正始祖。
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