History
Roller coasters originated in Russia as ice slides. These slides consisted of wooden structures coated with ice, The carts were pretty much a block of ice with straw inside to keep you from getting too cold. They were very popular, but insanely dangerous and required extensive training.
These ice slides inspired a French businessman to build an ice slide in France. The French climate was not suitable for a structure made of ice, so it melted. The melted, sloppy ride inspired this French man to put wheels on the carts. Next, they improved the track and the structure to make the ride safer. The first roller coaster with an inversion came in France in the 1850's. These thrill rides were first introduced to the United States in the mid-1800's in Pennsylvania and it was called the Mauch Chunk Switchback Railroad. It started as a railroad to send coals to a railway, but then was converted into a roller coaster like ride. The first actual United States roller coaster came in Coney Island, New York around June, 1884 and it was created by L.A. Thompson. It was called the Switchback Railroad and it received hundreds of dollars per day. It was just a basic roller coaster, alike the Russian ice slides with two hills parallel to each other. Many other types of roller coasters have been established since 1884, but the Switchback Railroad was the father of all the United States roller coasters.