The Wheelie Was Invented in 1890

One of the first stunt bike riders was a former telegraph messenger named Daniel Canary.

 When Canary started riding in 1879, bicycles were still a new form of transportation, and Canary excelled at finding new and interesting things to do on two wheels, says Phil Edwards at Trivia Happy. Canary could flip, he could ride with no hands, and in 1884 he even rode down the steps of the U.S. Capitol building. But he didn’t stop there.

 As Edwards discovered, Canary invented one of the most well-known bicycle tricks of all time: As the Tribune reports, Canary tried out the bike at Niagara Falls and "performed the feat, then regarded as impossible, of riding on the rear wheel, with the front wheel elevated. Mr. Canary believes he was the first rider to perform the feat." 

That's right—Dan Canary invented the wheelie.