John Galt - Inventor

In 1835 John Galt (1779-1839) was living in his sister's house in West Blackhall Street, Greenock.  Badly incapacitated from a number of strokes, this did not stop Galt's imagination from devising what can only be described as an early form of exercise machine.

Picture Source - Watt Institution, Greenock

A quote from a "Greenock Paper" found in the publication "Museum of Foreign Literature and Science" (Volume 26) 1835 reads:- 

“John Galt’s Hobby-Horse – Mr. Galt, being incapable of locomotion, has lately invented a machine which gives him exercise somewhat similar to riding.  It is of the form of a cross, the transverse beam moving on a pivot like a balance.  From each arm hangs a stirrup-iron, and on the top of the upright are two pullies, through which two cords are reeved, fastened to the extremities of the transverse beam.  The unfastened ends hang down in front, with bell-pull handles.  When using it, the invalid is seated on an elbow-chair, his feet placed in the stirrups, while he grasps the handles, and gives it motion by drawing the cords, raising and depressing the ends of the transverse beam."

This contraption could have been what Galt described in his Literary Life and Miscellanies Volume 1 when he wrote-

 “At last I hit, as I supposed, on a more agreeable diminution of leisure than dictating stories, and an old youthful habit was invited to return.  I imagined that there was not such a waste of thought in mechanical experiments, as in literature; and accordingly I resorted to this very questionable kind of indulgence.  Having formed in my own mind the model of a machine that promised some amusement, I resolved to make one, and with that view ordered cuts of leaden pipes, and boxes to be made, and anticipated the pleasure I should derive from the experiment.”

Unfortunately for Galt, while his mental inventiveness was still to the fore, his physical strength was waning.  He writes, "... alas, I forgot the weight of the lead, and when I came to handle my materials, I found myself, in some instances, unable to lift them, though they did not exceed many pounds”.  He employed a man to assemble the machine.

From a young age Galt had been interested in how things worked.  In his Autobiography he writes -

"While yet at school I had a bias for mechanics ... Among other things I attempted to make a hurdy-gurdy, in a box, and was magnificent in shows."  He says that his best work was "an Eolian harp, which was occasionally shown off in the staircase window, especially when my mother happened to be absent, for its mournful melody put her in the vapours, as she said, and I was obliged to give away the "wind organ" to a schoolfellow."  It is not surprising, an Aeolian harp is played by the wind and must have filled the house with very eerie sounds. 

These are just a few of the instances which show the inventiveness and curiosity of John Galt - traits which stayed with him throughout his life.

Here are some other posts about John Galt that you may enjoy (just click on the blue links) -

The Greenock Galts - information about John Galt's family and their life in Greenock.
The Galt Marbles - John Galt was in Athens when the Parthenon marbles were being shipped to Britain.
The poem that left John Galt speechless - a cheeky poem about Galt by Renfrew poet Andrew Park.
John Galt's Women - the Countess of Blessington - a great friend of John Galt with a fascinating past.
John Galt - Founder of the City of Guelph - all about the beautiful City of Guelph in Ontario, Canada.