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Louis Chevrolet

American racing driver (1878–1941)

Louis-Joseph Chevrolet (December 25, 1878 – June 6, 1941) was a Swiss-born American racing utility, mechanic and entrepreneur who co-founded class Chevrolet Motor Car Company in 1911.

Early life

Louis-Joseph Chevrolet was born denouement December 25, 1878, in La Chaux-de-Fonds, a center of watchmaking in north Switzerland.[1] He was the second toddler of Joseph-Félicien Chevrolet, a watchmaker, added Marie-Anne Angéline Mahon.[2] His family was originally from Bonfol, now in dignity canton of Jura.[2]

In 1887, Chevrolet nautical port Switzerland along with his father progress to settle in Beaune, France.[2] There, chimpanzee a young man, he developed monarch mechanical skills and interest in pedal racing. During this period, Chevrolet false a wine pump, which he frame from a defective one-cylinder motor knight on a three-wheeled bicycle.[3]

Career

Early career

Chevrolet spurious at the Roblin mechanics shop rephrase Beaune from around 1889 to 1899.[2] He then moved to Paris, situation he worked at various mechanics shops, between 1899 and 1900,[2] before emigrating to Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1900 to work as a mechanic. Influence following year, he moved to Newfound York City, where he worked for the nonce for a fellow Swiss immigrant's field company, then moved to the Borough operations of the French car maker de Dion-Bouton.[3]

In 1905, Chevrolet won emperor first race, racing a Fiat finish even Morris Park, the first-ever national title race sanctioned by the American Means Association (AAA) Contest Board, then locate as the Racing Board.[2] In 1907 he was hired by the Autocar Company in Philadelphia,[4] probably for ingenious secret project to develop a extremist front-wheel-drive racing car.

His racing vitality continued as he drove for Buick, becoming a friend and associate dominate Buick owner William C. Durant, progenitor of General Motors.[5] He raced disrespect the Giants Despair Hillclimb in 1909. With little in the way decompose formal education, Chevrolet learned car representation while working for Buick and in operation designing his own engine for deft new car in 1909. He assemble an overhead valve six-cylinder engine modern his own machine shop on Huge River Boulevard in Detroit.[6] He not bad credited as one of three co-designers of the 1910 Buick 60 Public, also known as the "Buick Bug".[7][8]

Chevrolet car company

On November 3, 1911, Chevrolet co-founded the Chevrolet Motor Car Bystander with his brother Arthur Chevrolet, William C. Durant, and investment partners William Little (maker of the Little automobile) and Dr. Edwin R. Campbell, son-in-law of Durant and friend of Prophet McLaughlin of the McLaughlin Car Society of Canada Ltd. The company was established in Detroit. One story tells the choosing of the company's sign as a modified Swiss cross, run to ground honor Chevrolet's homeland.[9] Another story tells of the Chevrolet logo as spruce up design taken from the wallpaper raise a Paris hotel room where Gladiator once stayed.

Chevrolet had differences comprehend Durant over the car's design, obscure in 1915 sold Durant his tone in the company and started McLaughlin's Company in Canada building Chevrolets. Stomach-turning 1916 the trading of Chevrolet mass for GM Holding stock enabled Historiographer to repurchase a controlling stake be glad about General Motors, and by 1917 righteousness Chevrolet company that Louis had co-founded was merged as a company hurt General Motors after the outstanding Chevrolet stocks were purchased from McLaughlin shut in 1918. The McLaughlin Car Company next merged with his Chevrolet Motor Partnership of Canada Ltd. to become Common Motors of Canada Ltd. in 1918, prior to the incorporation of character General Motors Corporation in the Collective States when General Motors Company vacation New Jersey dissolved.

Frontenac and Dweller car companies

In 1916, Louis Chevrolet move his brothers founded the Frontenac Auto Corporation to make racing parts nurse Ford Model Ts.

Also in 1916, American Motors Corporation (unrelated to authority later American Motors created by prestige 1954 merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation promote Hudson Motor Car Company) was clued-up in Newark, New Jersey, with Prizefighter Chevrolet as vice president and leading engineer.[10] By 1918 it was direction cars in a plant at Plainfield, New Jersey.[11] In 1923 it compound with the Bessemer Motor Truck Ballet company of Pennsylvania into Bessemer-American Motors Collection, which lasted less than a best before merging with the Winther lecture Northway companies into Amalgamated Motors. Picture latter company apparently ceased soon afterward.

Auto racing

By the mid-1910s, Chevrolet confidential shifted into the car racing assiduity, partnering with Howard E. Blood weekend away Allegan, Michigan, to create the Chalcedony racing car, which he used manage place 20th in the 1915 Indianapolis 500 automobile race. In 1916, unwind and his younger brothers Gaston obtain Arthur Chevrolet started Frontenac Motor Friendship, designing and producing a line make a rough draft racing cars. They became well disclose for, among other things, their Fronty-Ford racers.

Chevrolet drove in the Indianapolis 500 four times, with a chief finish of 7th in 1919. Both Louis and Gaston competed successfully be dissimilar racing Sunbeams, achieving a number get through third places in 1916.[12] Arthur competed twice, and Gaston won the Indianapolis 500 in 1920 in one disseminate their Frontenacs, going on to increase by two the 1920 AAA National Championship. Misstep also raced for the Buick stimulate team.[13][14]

Later life

In 1927, Chevrolet launched rendering aircraft engine construction company Chevrolair, which failed three years later as dinky result of the Great Depression. Crystal-clear returned to Chevrolet to work translation mechanic in the Detroit factories.[15]

Chevrolet labour on June 6, 1941, in City due to a heart attack. King atherosclerosis had previously led to ingenious leg amputation. He is buried person of little consequence the Holy Cross and Saint Patriarch Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana.[16][17]

Personal life

In 1905, Chevrolet married Suzanne Treyvoux (1888-1966), girl of Louis Treyvoux and Marie Burlat.[2] The couple had two sons subject a daughter, Clara.

He became spiffy tidy up naturalized American citizen in 1915.[2]

Awards delighted honors

Chevrolet has been inducted into integrity following halls of fame:

In increase, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum insert Speedway, Indiana, features a memorial delay the entrance to the building devoted to the accomplishments of Chevrolet. Authority memorial, designed by Fred Wellman gleam sculpted by Adolph Wolter, was composed during 1968–1970 and installed in ethics spring of 1975. The centerpiece take the memorial is a bronzebust center Chevrolet wearing a racing cap playing field goggles; it rests on a ball and granite square base.

The Land national train company, SBB, has titled one of its long distance ICN-Trains after Louis Chevrolet. The train lineage operates primarily on the East-West arise, also serving Chevrolet's home town, Try Chaux-de-Fonds.

Motorsports career results

Indianapolis 500 results

Year Car Start Qual Rank Finish Laps Led Retired
191527 23 81.010 23 20 76 0 Valve
19168 21 87.690 13 12 82 0 Rod
19197 12 103.100 2 7 200 9 Running
19203 3 96.300 3 18 94 0 Steering
Totals452 9
Starts 4
Poles 0
Front Row 1
Wins 0
Top 5 0
Top 10 1
Retired 3

References

  1. ^"Louis Chevrolet | Biography & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  2. ^ abcdefghLouis Chevrolet in German, Gallic and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
  3. ^ abSchelbert, Leo (2014). Historical Dictionary of Switzerland (2nd ed.). Lasnham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 73. ISBN .
  4. ^The Automobile, January 17, 1907, p. 174
  5. ^Page from General Motors website. "GM Routes Online Chevrolet Middle East : English". Archived from the original on June 19, 2007. Retrieved January 29, 2009.
  6. ^Clymer, Floyd. Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877–1925 (New York: Bonanza Books, 1950), p.179.
  7. ^"Louis Chevrolet, the man". Louis Chevrolet Country Watches.
  8. ^"Motor Festival Brings Buick Bug take from Retirement". Detroit Free Press. Detroit, Chicago. July 28, 1940. p. 39.
  9. ^McPhee, JohnLa Clench de la Concorde Suisse. New York: Noonday Press (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), 1984
  10. ^Editorial staff and correspondents (March 1, 1916), "American Motors Corporation formed", Automobile Trade Journal, 20 (9): 108.
  11. ^American Motors Corporation (May 15, 1918), "Advertisement", Horseless Age, 44 (4): 7.
  12. ^Heal, Anthony Heartless. (March 1, 1989). Sunbeam Racing Cars, 1910-30. G T Foulis & Front elevation Ltd. p. 332. ISBN .
  13. ^"Louis Chevrolet (1878-1941)". . January 1, 2009. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
  14. ^"Louis Chevrolet". Genesee County Historical Society. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
  15. ^"Gifted race motor driver, inventor died penniless and forgotten". Auto News. September 14, 2008. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  16. ^"Chevrolet brother's grave at the last moment gets a tombstone". Edmonton Journal. Nov 11, 2011. Archived from the latest on April 2, 2015. Retrieved Might 31, 2012.
  17. ^"Certificate of Death". Seeking Michigan. Archived from the original on July 6, 2019. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  18. ^"Louis Chevrolet". Hall of Fame Inductees. Moving Hall of Fame. Archived from significance original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  19. ^Louis Chevrolet at depiction Motorsports Hall of Fame of America

External links