Editing Erasmus Darwin (section)

=== Inventions ===
Darwin was the inventor of several devices, though he did not patent any: he believed this would damage his reputation as a doctor. He encouraged his friends to patent their own modifications of his designs.{{sfn|Smith|2005}}
* A horizontal [[windmill]], which he designed for [[Josiah Wedgwood]] (who would be Charles Darwin's other grandfather, see family tree below).
* A [[carriage]] that would not tip over (1766).
* A steering mechanism for his [[carriage]], known today as the [[Ackermann steering geometry|Ackermann linkage]], that would be adopted by cars 130 years later (1759).{{sfn|Smith|2005}}
* A speaking machine, which was a mechanical larynx made of wood, silk, and leather and pronounced several sounds so well 'as to deceive all who heard it unseen' (at [[Clifton, Bristol|Clifton]] in 1799).<ref name="EDH">{{cite web |url=http://www.erasmusdarwin.org/2013/01/project-update-the-speaking-machine/ |title=Project Update: The Speaking Machine |date=9 January 2013 |website=Erasmus Darwin House |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150324115010/http://www.erasmusdarwin.org/2013/01/project-update-the-speaking-machine/ |archive-date=24 March 2015 |url-status=bot: unknown |access-date=23 February 2015 }}</ref>
* A [[boat lift|canal lift]] for barges.
* A minute artificial bird.{{sfn|Smith|2005}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.euromanticism.org/erasmus-darwins-artificial-bird/|title = Erasmus Darwin's Artificial Bird – European Romanticisms in Association| date=6 December 2019 }}</ref>
* A [[copying]] machine (1778).
* A variety of weather monitoring machines.