Holless Wilbur Allen (July 12, 1909

Stilwell, Kansas Stilwell is an unincorporated community in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. The ZIP Code for Stilwell is 66085. History Stilwell had its start when the Missouri Pacific Railroad began to plan t ...

– June 28, 1979

Billings, Missouri Billings is a city in Christian County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,035 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Missouri metropolitan area. History Billings was platted in 1872. The community was named after railroad ...

) was the inventor of the

compound bow In modern archery, a compound bow is a bow that uses a levering system, usually of cables and pulleys, to bend the limbs. In general, compound bows are widely used in target practice and hunting. The pulley/cam system grants the user a mechan ...

. Allen revolutionized the

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

industry worldwide with the invention and patent of the compound bow in the 1960s. In the early 1960s, the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

experienced an increased interest in bow hunting. Holless Wilbur Allen was mechanically minded and sawed the ends off a conventional

recurve bow In archery, a recurve bow is one of the main shapes a bow can take, with limbs that curve away from the archer when unstrung. A recurve bow stores more energy and delivers energy more efficiently than the equivalent straight-limbed bow, giving a ...

and then added pulleys to each end. Allen experimented with a number of designs to eventually apply for a patent on June 23, 1966, and was granted to him in December 1969. With the help of bowmaker Tom Jennings, he became the first

manufacture Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a rang ...

r of compound bows. Of the five bow manufacturing companies to retain the right to manufacture compound bows utilizing Allen's design and patent, PSE (Precision Shooting Equipment) is the only survivor. PSE is the

parent company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

of Browning Archery and the former Archery Research (AR). Allen was born in

Stillwell Stillwell is an American rock band formed by Q-Unique from The Arsonists and Kings Bounty, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu from Korn, and Wuv from P.O.D. The band has released three albums and one EP. They released their third studio album, ''Sup ...

Johnson County, Kansas Johnson County is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas, on the border with Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 609,863, making it the most populous county in Kansas. Its county seat is Olathe. Largely suburban, the county conta ...

and lived in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

. He moved to

in 1967. He died as the results of injuries suffered in a car accident.

Recognition & Awards

Archery Hall of Fame & Museum: Class of 2010 Inductee, Innovator, Inventor, Contributor to the Sport

References

The Compound Bow
* Archery 1909 births 1979 deaths People from Johnson County, Kansas People from Kansas City, Missouri People from Billings, Missouri {{US-archery-bio-stub