Who Invented The Swing

Swings have been around for decades. They are such a simple contraption yet give so much pleasure and entertainment to kids and adults around the world. That’s why nowadays it is almost impossible to imagine a park without one of these and we can say that swings have become a staple for many public parks and school playgrounds. 

But, have you ever wondered how old the swing really is? And who invented it? Who can we call the creator of swings and thank them for all the joy we and all the kids around the world have? And, the truth may not be as simple as you may think.

Ancient times Inventor of Swing

The main thing why no one really knows who invented the swing is because – there really isn’t anyone. Humans are in their nature, very primitive beings. And it isn’t hard to know those primitive humans since they didn’t have PCs and the Internet, needed to find a way to entertain themselves. Sure, they could hit a rock and play football or chase each other and play “tag”. But, the real thing was to hang from a wine off of big trees and – swing.

And just like that, the first swings were made. But, if you want to pinpoint an exact moment in time where the swing is first mentioned, that would be somewhere in the 5th century B.C. in ancient Greece. Scientists have found ancient vases that have images of people on swings engraved into them. So, if we could pinpoint who were the fathers of the modern swing, that would be primitive people. Or the Greeks. You get the riddle. Truth is, we can’t really say with 100% accuracy who is the creator of the modern swing. The important thing is that it was created, and thankfully, it still exists.

The swing is one of the oldest, simplest toys in history, and yet no one knows for sure who invented it. Some say it was an ancient Chinese invention, while others claim that it originated in India or even Europe. What we do know is that the swing has been enjoyed by people all over the world for centuries, and there’s something about its simple design that makes it irresistible to both children and adults.

Swing sets have a long history. In Ancient Greece, archaeologists have discovered artifacts that suggest that swingsets date back to 1450 BC. Early swing sets were simple and used wood and rope as the primary components.

The design of the swing set has changed very little over time. The most significant changes have been in the materials used and the addition of features such as slides and monkey bars.

It is believed that swings were introduced to Europe by Marco Polo during his travels to China in the 13th century. However, there is no concrete evidence to support this claim. There are also reports of swings being used in India during the same time period.

Who invented the swing: Charles Wicksteed

According to Wikipedia, the modern-day swing was invented by Charles Wicksteed (1847 – 1931) in 1920s. One of his early prototypes was discovered in 2013 near Wicksteed Park in the United Kingdom, dating back to the mid-1920s and was covered by BBC in this article.

The classic slide and swing were invented by Charles Wicksteed, an English Engineer who built the current-day slide and swing for his park in Kettering before producing and exporting them.

Below is an image of Wicksteed Park’s original swings which were suspended from a 4m-tall frame.

Inventor of the swings: Charles Wicksteed

In 1920s, Charles Wicksteed invented the modern-day swing. He got his idea from watching how children played on a see-saw. He believed that if he could suspend the swing from a frame, it would be much more fun.

His first swings were made out of wood and rope and were very simple.

What was Baby Swing Inventor’s Motivation

Charles Wicksteed had the vision to create a park for the people of Kettering back in 1914. A few years later, he donated Barton Seagreave Hall and Estate to make this dream become reality. He originally requested that it be named Barton Park, but after much discussion, it was decided to name the park after him instead as a tribute to all that he had done.

It is important to note that there was minimal advancement of baby gear technology at this time. In fact, baby devices such as baby monitors, baby car seats, trampolines, activity centers, and others weren’t invented yet.

Charles Wicksteed, while designing and laying out the park and its man-made lake, considered the problem of producing safe playground equipment, and again this new project provided him with a new and developing sector to his firm. All these details were highlighted in his obituary.

The obituary went on to explain that Wicksteed moved his employees from the factory to the park during a time of depression at work, allowing him to continue employing them, an event that demonstrated his character. He built a renowned racing track in the park, and now plans are being made for a tiny railway inspired by his ideas.

The first swing was actually designed for adults, not babies. However, Wicksteed observed that children were playing on the swings meant for adults and he thought it would be a good idea to create a swing specifically for them.

Modern Swings Invention in 1920s

If you look at primitive swings or the ones Greeks used, you can notice that they are virtually the same as the modern ones. It’s basically a variation of a rope that is tied somewhere high, which you can grab and swing. And the concept can’t really change too much. And it shouldn’t. The adrenaline rush swinging gives you is the same as it used to be and it isn’t like swings are rocket science – you can’t really change the way they work. 

There are several designs and models of modern-day swings which trace their origin to the original designs by Charles.

So, as said, swings are entertaining. Period. Admit it, even you couldn’t resist a temptation sometimes to swing for a few times when no one would look. Yes, we are looking at you, John. 

Kids love swings. And toddlers as well. And swing manufacturers have realized this so nowadays you have a whole palette of different swings available. And since most swings are placed outside and in parks, they realized the world is missing portable swings. The ones you could place outdoors and indoors. You can check more about those in a different article. 

One more exciting thing about swings is that, besides being entertaining, they can be very educational too. Your kid can learn a lot about gravity from it and a few things about the physics of motion. The way they work is by converting potential energy to kinetic energy. When you pull up the swing and release it, you create potential energy. When you pull your feet off the ground the potential energy is converted into kinetic energy and that’s what gives you a speed boost. 

One more thing to know about it is that opposing forces like gravity and friction slow the swing down. So, if you don’t add more energy to it, you will stop swinging. You can prevent this by swinging your feet upwards or if someone gives you a push. Pumping your legs lets you swing more and higher which you need to be aware of and explain to your kid since overdoing it may be scary for them. Or they could even make a 360 turn which is something we really want to avoid. 

When was modern-day swings invented?

The first recorded use of the term “swing” in relation to a playground apparatus was in 1859 but it wasn’t until 1920s when Charles Wisksteed invented the modern day swing. In 1914, he submitted design-related materials to the British government for a patent on his new playground equipment, which he called the “playground swing”.

He got his idea from watching how children played on a see-saw. He believed that if he could suspend the swing from a frame, it would be much more fun. His first swings were made out of wood and rope and were very simple.

Make The Most Out Of Swings

We are pretty sure you learned a bunch of cool and useful information from this article. Still, don’t let the swing just be entertainment for you and your kid. Use it to learn new things! Sure, it’s meant to put a smile on your face, but if you can give your kid some valuable lessons with the help of it, why not? As a matter of fact, we are pretty certain that’s how Greeks and primal people discovered the laws of physics. Just with the help of a single swing. Or maybe not.