Stephen Leonard Chauncy Coleman was a civil engineer. He graduated from UNB. Coleman was first to propose the use of equalizer bars on the suspension of motor vehicles. Coleman was a prolific inventor. He obtained at least nine Canadian patents on shock absorbers, suspension systems, universal joints, air springs, and rotary engines.
Coleman had designed a suspension system for Oldsmobile Company in Lansing, Michigan. He also did some work for other car manufacturers in Detroit. He had been invited to England to design a suspension system for Triumph Motor Car Co. While he was there he worked for Melbourne Engineering Works in Darbyshire, England on a design project for Daimler Motor Company Ltd, the manufacturer of Jaguar and Mercedes Benz cars.
In 1928 he formed the Coleman Auto Spring Suspension Co. Ltd. The purpose of the company was to promote the Coleman patents and generate revenue from the sales of licenses. With the death of his father, he inherited the Barker House Hotel on Queen Street and the Summer Resort at Kilarney Lake. During the great depression, all of Coleman’s income from patent royalties was spent to maintain the hotel and resort.
Coleman’s invention can still be seen on most cars and small trucks without significant changes from the inventor‘s original design.