Five Tire Facts

Charles Goodyear invented vulcanized rubber in 1844 that was later used for tires. (Rubber bands were invented the next year, 1845).
John Dunlop invented the air-filled, pneumatic tires, in 1888 for bicycles.
André Michelin was the first person to use pneumatic tires on an automobile in 1895.
In 1911, Philip Strauss invented the first combination tire and air filled inner tube.
P.W. Litchfield of the Goodyear Tire Company patented the first tubeless tire in 1903, but it was never commercially exploited until 1954 on a Packard. Interesting that during the past 160 years, we have not been able to find a more economic substitute, that never goes flat. BTW - the name "rubber" comes from the use of the natural substance as a pencil eraser (invented in 1770) that could “rub out” pencil marks and is the reason that it was then re-named “rubber.”

Keds

Tires and sneakers are both made of rubber and fabric, so it was only a matter of time before tire companies got into the shoe business. In 1892, Goodyear manufactured a rubber-and-canvas sneaker. The company decided on the name Peds, but someone else already held the trademark. So, Goodyear used the name Keds. The rest of the world started calling them “sneakers,” after an ad man remarked the shoes’ soles were quiet on most surfaces. In England, they call them trainers.