Émile Levassor: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|French engineer (1843–1897)}} |
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'''Émile Levassor''' ([[21 January]] [[1843]], [[Marolles-en-Hurepoix]] - [[14 April]] [[1897]], [[Paris]]) was a French engineer and a [[pioneer]] of the [[automobile]] industry and car racing in [[France]]. He started his carrer in [[1872]] in a company that produced wood-working machines, where he met [[René Panhard]]. They were building gas engines as well. In [[1886]], a [[Belgium|Belgian]] industrialist Edouard Sarazin got a license for building engines of [[Gottlieb Daimler]]. He chose Levassor to build them in France. When Sarazin died in [[1887]], Levassor married his widow, Louise, and together with Panhard they started building cars. The first appeared in [[1890]], with an engine built in Daimler license. Levassor also took part in auto racing, finishing fifth in [[Paris]]-[[Rouen]] race in [[1894]], and winning illustriously the [[Paris-Bordeaux-Paris Rally]] the following year (both in his own cars). In [[1896]], when taking part in the Paris-Marseille-Paris Rally, he got seriously injured in a crash when he tried to avoid hitting a dog. He never recovered from the injury, and died in Paris the following year. |
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|birth_date = {{Birth date|1843|1|21|df=y}} |
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|birth_place = [[Marolles-en-Hurepoix]], France |
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|death_date = {{Death date and age|1897|4|14|1843|1|21|df=y}} |
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|death_place = Paris, France |
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|education = [[École Centrale Paris]] |
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|occupation = [[automobile]] industry |
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|spouse = [[Louise Sarazin]] |
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'''Émile Constant Levassor''' (21 January 1843 – 14 April 1897) was a French engineer and a [[Innovator|pioneer]] of the [[automobile industry]] and [[car racing]] in France. |
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== Biography == |
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Levassor was born in [[Marolles-en-Hurepoix]]. After studying engineering and graduating from [[École Centrale Paris]], he started his career in 1872 in a company that produced wood-working machines, where he met [[René Panhard]]. The company also built gas engines and when, in 1886, a Belgian industrialist Edouard Sarazin got a licence to build [[Gottlieb Daimler|Daimler]] engines he chose Levassor to build them in France. When Sarazin died in 1887, Levassor married his widow, Louise, and together with Panhard they started building cars. Levassor, Peugeot and Daimler all met in 1888 at Peugeot's Valentigny Factory to share their knowledge, a summit that led Levassor and Peugeot to cooperate in experimenting with Daimler and Benz engines. However, Levassor gave more thought to the design and operation of the new car than had Benz, Daimler or Peugeot, all of whom had been more concerned with introducing a successful engine into what was still basically a small carriage. |
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The [[Panhard et Levassor|Panhard]] of 1891, with an engine built under Daimler licence, introduced a series of innovations that effectively created the modern car. Levassor moved the engine from the rear to the front of the car and cooled it via a front-mounted water radiator rather than relying, as had been customary, on natural aspiration, which was often insufficient. He also introduced a crankshaft to link the engine with the gearing, eschewing the bicycle-style belt drive of previous cars; and he installed a clutch pedal and a gear stick, situated between the seats, to operate the gearbox, thus creating the first modern transmission. The siting of the engine on the front of the car rather than the rear provided far more room for passengers. The resultant configuration – unfortunately for Levassor – was soon called the systeme Panhard.<ref>{{cite book| title = The Life of the Automobile| author = Steven Parissien| pages = 9–10}}</ref> |
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* [http://perso.orange.fr/site.panhard/cvl.htm Émile Levassor, in French] |
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* [http://www.racing-database.com/ Racing database] |
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Levassor also took part in motor racing, finishing fifth in [[Paris–Rouen (motor race)|Paris to Rouen]] race in 1894, and arriving first in (but not winning<ref>{{cite news|title=Ces merveilleux fous roulants sur leurs drôles de machines|url=http://www.lefigaro.fr/reportage/20070709.FIG000000143_ces_merveilleux_fous_roulants_sur_leurs_droles_de_machines.html|access-date=30 September 2011|newspaper=Le Figaro|date=9 July 2007|language=French}}</ref>) the [[Paris–Bordeaux–Paris]] race the following year (both in his own cars). |
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[[pl:Emile Levassor]] |
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==Personal life== |
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[[File:Voiture d'Émile Levassor, arrivée première de la course Paris-Bordeaux-Paris de 1895.jpg|thumb|280px|Émile Levassor and Louise Sarazin-Levassor at the start of the 1895 [[Paris-Bordeaux-Paris]].]] |
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In May 1890 Emile Levassor married Mme. [[Louise Sarazin]], the widow of Edouard Sarazin, an influential and entrepreneurial Patents lawyer who owned licences for [[Deutz AG|Deutz]] and [[Daimler AG|Daimler]] engine manufacture. Both types of engine were manufactured in Paris by [[Panhard|Perin, Panhard & Cie]] and [[Panhard & Levassor]].<ref name="Laux">James M. Laux: '' In First Gear. The French automobile industry to 1914. '' McGill-Queen’s University Press, Montreal 1976, ISBN 0-7735-0264-5.</ref>{{Rp|p.16}} |
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==Death== |
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In 1896, when taking part in the [[1896 Paris–Marseille–Paris]] race, he was seriously injured in a crash while trying to avoid hitting a dog. He never recovered from the injury, and died in Paris the following year. |
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==See also== |
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*[[Motorsport before 1906]] |
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*[[Arthur Constantin Krebs]] |
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*[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1889~Album_Course_01_%27premi%C3%A8re_voiture_de_course%27.jpg 1889 – "Première voiture de course"] |
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==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
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{{Authority control}} |
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[[Category:1843 births]] |
[[Category:1843 births]] |
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[[Category:1897 deaths]] |
[[Category:1897 deaths]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:École Centrale Paris alumni]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:French automotive pioneers]] |
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[[Category:French racing drivers]] |
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[[Category:French founders of automobile manufacturers]] |
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[[Category:Panhard]] |
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[[Category:19th-century French businesspeople]] |
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Latest revision as of 13:48, 2 September 2024
Émile Levassor | |
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| Born | 21 January 1843 Marolles-en-Hurepoix, France |
| Died | 14 April 1897 (aged 54) Paris, France |
| Education | École Centrale Paris |
| Occupation | automobile industry |
| Spouse | Louise Sarazin |
Émile Constant Levassor (21 January 1843 – 14 April 1897) was a French engineer and a pioneer of the automobile industry and car racing in France.
Biography
[edit]Levassor was born in Marolles-en-Hurepoix. After studying engineering and graduating from École Centrale Paris, he started his career in 1872 in a company that produced wood-working machines, where he met René Panhard. The company also built gas engines and when, in 1886, a Belgian industrialist Edouard Sarazin got a licence to build Daimler engines he chose Levassor to build them in France. When Sarazin died in 1887, Levassor married his widow, Louise, and together with Panhard they started building cars. Levassor, Peugeot and Daimler all met in 1888 at Peugeot's Valentigny Factory to share their knowledge, a summit that led Levassor and Peugeot to cooperate in experimenting with Daimler and Benz engines. However, Levassor gave more thought to the design and operation of the new car than had Benz, Daimler or Peugeot, all of whom had been more concerned with introducing a successful engine into what was still basically a small carriage.
The Panhard of 1891, with an engine built under Daimler licence, introduced a series of innovations that effectively created the modern car. Levassor moved the engine from the rear to the front of the car and cooled it via a front-mounted water radiator rather than relying, as had been customary, on natural aspiration, which was often insufficient. He also introduced a crankshaft to link the engine with the gearing, eschewing the bicycle-style belt drive of previous cars; and he installed a clutch pedal and a gear stick, situated between the seats, to operate the gearbox, thus creating the first modern transmission. The siting of the engine on the front of the car rather than the rear provided far more room for passengers. The resultant configuration – unfortunately for Levassor – was soon called the systeme Panhard.[1]
Levassor also took part in motor racing, finishing fifth in Paris to Rouen race in 1894, and arriving first in (but not winning[2]) the Paris–Bordeaux–Paris race the following year (both in his own cars).
Personal life
[edit]
In May 1890 Emile Levassor married Mme. Louise Sarazin, the widow of Edouard Sarazin, an influential and entrepreneurial Patents lawyer who owned licences for Deutz and Daimler engine manufacture. Both types of engine were manufactured in Paris by Perin, Panhard & Cie and Panhard & Levassor.[3]: p.16
Death
[edit]In 1896, when taking part in the 1896 Paris–Marseille–Paris race, he was seriously injured in a crash while trying to avoid hitting a dog. He never recovered from the injury, and died in Paris the following year.
See also
[edit]- Monument to the Glory of Émile Levassor
- Motorsport before 1906
- Arthur Constantin Krebs
- 1889 – "Première voiture de course"
References
[edit]
- ^ Steven Parissien. The Life of the Automobile. pp. 9–10.
- ^ "Ces merveilleux fous roulants sur leurs drôles de machines". Le Figaro (in French). 9 July 2007. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
- ^ James M. Laux: In First Gear. The French automobile industry to 1914. McGill-Queen’s University Press, Montreal 1976, ISBN 0-7735-0264-5.
