Václav Laurin

Memorial plaque at the birth house of Václav Laurin in Kamení u Pěnčína.

Václav Laurin (16 October 1865, Kamení near Pěnčín - 13 August 1930, Mladá Boleslav) was a Czech engineer, entrepreneur and industrialist who co-founded automobile manufacturer Laurin & Klement that later became today's Škoda Auto.

Career

He apprenticed as a locksmith in Mladá Boleslav, where, in 1895, he and Václav Klement founded the company Laurin & Klement (now Škoda Auto). At the beginning of December 1895, the mechanic Václav Laurin and the book-seller Václav Klement, both bicycle enthusiasts, started manufacturing bicycles of their own design, patriotically named Slavia in the nationalist atmosphere of the end of the 19th century.[1] In 1905, Laurin manufactured their first automobile. Today, the company enjoys world-wide popularity under the brand Škoda Auto.[2]

He was prominently engaged in the construction company Laurin & Klement, together with his collaborator Václav Klement, co-founder of the company. He participated in the construction of vehicles there. In his later years, he was the technical director of Škoda Auto.

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ "Bhasin Motors" (in Czech). 2004. Archived from the original on 2 June 2004.

External links