Entertainment News Mechanical Horse Toy Ride, 1867

In January 1867, William Goodwin of Washington, D.C. filed for a patent for his mechanical horse under the category of "Automaton Toys and Hobby Horses." His invention, he argued, "consists in a novel method of applying mechanical movements to automaton toys made in the image of various animals whereby the toy is caused to move the legs head and tail in the act of walking and trotting after the manner of the animal which the toy is made to imitate."