Background
Starley was born on the 24th of December 1855 and lived on Church Hill, Walthamstow, London, England. He was the son of a gardener, John Starley and Mary Ann Starley (ne Cippen).
Starley was born on the 24th of December 1855 and lived on Church Hill, Walthamstow, London, England. He was the son of a gardener, John Starley and Mary Ann Starley (ne Cippen).
In 1877 he started a new business Starley & Sutton Company with William Sutton – a local cycling enthusiast. They set about developing safer and easier to use bicycles than the prevailing penny farthing or "ordinary" bicycles. They started by manufacturing tricycles, by 1883 their products were being branded as Rover.
In 1885 Starley made history when he produced the Rover Safety Bicycle.
– a rear-wheel-drive, chain-driven cycle with two similar-sized wheels, making it more stable than the previous high wheeler designs. Cycling magazine said the Rover had "set the pattern to the world" and the phrase was used in their advertising for many years.
In 1889 the company became J. K. Starley & Company Limited and in the late 1890s, it had become the Rover Cycle Company Limited.
John Starley died suddenly in 1901 and was succeeded as managing director of the firm by Harry Smyth.
Soon after his death the Rover company began building motorcycles and then cars.