Skateboards emerged in California in the late 1940s to early 1950s, created by surfers who attached roller-skate wheels to wooden boards; there is no single inventor credited.
Early origins
Most histories trace skateboarding to surfers in California seeking “sidewalk surfing” options when waves were flat, with DIY boards appearing by the late 1940s and early 1950s. Photos and accounts note crude boards with metal or clay wheels before commercial products were widely available.
Commercialization
By the early 1960s, surf shops and early brands began selling purpose-built boards; Val-Surf sold self-produced boards in 1962, and Makaha mass-produced boards by 1963 as the first big wave of the fad took off. The first organized competitions and magazines followed in 1963–1964, cementing skateboarding as a distinct activity.
Patents and attribution
A 1965 patent application by Louis D. Bostick relates to manufacturing commercial skateboards, but historians caution against naming a single inventor because the device evolved from many DIY efforts. Consensus sources therefore describe skateboards as an outgrowth of surfer culture rather than a singular patented invention.
