Inventor. He gained fame as a 19th-century English inventor who was a pioneer in the invention of the bicycle. History has credited him as the "Father of the British Cycle Industry." Not only did he build bicycles but also tricycles. His inventions include the differential gear and the perfection of chain-driven bicycles. Born the son of a farmer and his wife, Daniel and Ann Starley, he had limited formal schooling. Following leaving home as a teenager, he began his life's work as a gardener while he was repairing clocks and devised gadgets in his spare time. In his early twenties, after relocating to South London in 1850, Starley became involved in repairing sewing machines, which were, at the time, rare and expensive. He repaired type printing machines. In 1861, he formed the Coventry Sewing Machine Company with Josiah Turner, a business partner, and he patented the improvements he made on sewing machines. Many of his patented improvements are still being used on sewing machines in the 21st century. In 1868, the company started making bicycles, with improved models such as the "Coventry," which was quickly followed in 1871 by the "Ariel." He invented the expensive "Penny-farting," a bicycle named for British coins, which had a large front wheel and a smaller rear wheel. This popular model became extremely dangerous with falls as the front wheel was over five feet high, yet for twenty years, the bicycle was made in England and the United States. He invented the first velocipedes or bicycles with equal-sized wheels. Later developments included tricycles and tandems or the bicycle built for two. Starley's sons continued to make bicycles after his death, but Starley's nephew, John Kemp Starley made the most lasting improvement to bicycle design with the Rover safety cycle, which incorporated 26-inch wheels, a diamond-shaped frame and a chain drive, which was very similar to the modern bicycle. His nephew greatly improved the marketing of his bicycle with newspaper advertisements, presentations at gatherings, and supporting bicycle racing. Before his own company, the nephew was an employee at his company for a number of years. His nephew is credited with marketing the bicycle while he was considered the original genius engineer. With Coventry becoming the center of the British bicycle industry, a full statue of him on a large base was erected to honor James Starley in 1884 on Greyfriars Green in Coventry. The bicycle became less popular with the invention of the automobile by the turn of the century.