Call An Ambulance Yesterday

The Automotive Chronicles site has an article from 2005 about the ambulance's history accompanied with photos of old ambulances.

The CONCEPT of the ambulance started in Europe with the Knights of St. John. It was during the Crusades of the 11th century. The methods of transporting injured soldiers started centuries earlier. Before the concept first appeared, horses, mules and camels were used as "ambulances" transport. There were litters of chairs (cacolets) attached to them, that could transport a soldier or two. Another early method was the used of chariots by the Romans and the Greeks. I would imagine that the injured had a lot of headaches by the time they arrived to their destination.

The first motorized ambulance came out in 1899 in Chicago. It traveled 16 miles an hour. In 1900 the first horseless ambulance. They could travel between 20 to 30 mile per hour.

Visit here to read more and see a few pictures.

History of the Ambulance
http://www.automotivechronicles.com/articles/2005/apr/02/index.php