Owen Maclaren

From Includipedia, the inclusionist encyclopedia

Owen Maclaren MBE (died April 1978) was the inventor of the collapsible baby buggy.

The former test pilot and designer of the Supermarine Spitfire undercarriage was inspired when his daughter visited from the United States with his first grandchild. After watching the parents struggle with the clumsy conventional pushchair, he used his knowledge of lightweight, collapsible structures to create a new generation of infant transport.

He designed his first buggy in 1965, which was built in his medieval farmhouse stables in Barby, Northamptonshire in England. He also designed the 'Gadabout folding chair', and was commissioned by the Ministry of health to design a larger folding buggy for larger children with disabilities called the 'Buggy Major' this buggy was designed on square tubes instead of the usual round tubes like the 'Baby Buggy' this was around 1970. Today the modern version of the 'Baby Buggy' are sold in over 50 countries under the Maclaren brand.

In 1978 Queen Elizabeth II awarded him with an MBE.