Ernest Loosley

Ernest Alfred Loosley (born December 1862 in Marylebone, London, England; died February 22, 1895 in West End) was a bicycle repairman, ventriloquist and merchant.

Loosley married the former Isabel Thompson in Carlisle, Cumbria in December 1887. He worked at a bicycle shop there. They emigrated to the United States in 1890 or 1891 and settled in Birmingham along with Isabel's sister, Elizabeth Thompson.

Loosley was employed to supervise the expanded bicycle repair department of the Birmingham Arms & Cycle Co. in 1893. On May 3, 1894 he founded his own Loosley Cycle Co. which survived him for at least a few years and sold the "Birmingham Bicycle" for $40.00. Loosley had submitted patent applications for a chain guard and crank drawer, but neither were granted before his death.

Loosley was buried with his wife at Oak Hill Cemetery. Though his headstone still marks the site there, his remains were moved to Elmwood Cemetery in 1906.

External links

• Ernest Loosley at Findagrave.com