Who invented the car bumper?

The invention of the automobile bumper can be traced back to the joint efforts of multiple pioneers from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. In 1897, George Albert Lyon of New Jersey, USA, first proposed a similar concept. His company initially designed the bumper as an extension of decorative stainless steel wheel covers and obtained a patent for it in 1922. In the same year, the Czech Nesselsdorfer Automobile Company installed decorative metal strips on its first mass-produced car, the NW Prasident. Although no explicit safety function was specified, it is regarded as an early prototype. The design truly centered on safety was realized by Anglo-German engineer Frederick Richard Simms in 1905. He developed a metal anti-collision device specifically to mitigate collision impacts on pedestrians and vehicles, and this innovation is widely recognized as the technical origin of the modern bumper. After the 1970s, with the application of engineering plastics, bumpers evolved from a single metal structure to a composite energy-absorbing system. All models currently sold in the Malaysian market adopt such designs; for example, the bumper of the Perodua Myvi integrates pedestrian protection foam with radar sensors. It is worth noting that the evolution of bumpers has always revolved around material science and safety needs. From their initial decorative function to today's intelligent components integrated with ADAS systems, their development process reflects the automobile industry's continuous optimization of safety performance.