Charles Duryea

Charles Edgar Duryea

Charles Duryea (left) with J. Frank Duryea
Born (1861-12-15)December 15, 1861
Canton, Illinois
Died September 28, 1938(1938-09-28) (aged 76)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Charles Edgar Duryea (December 15, 1861 – September 28, 1938) was the engineer of the first-ever working American gasoline-powered car and co-founder of Duryea Motor Wagon Company.[1] He was born near Canton, Illinois, the son of George Washington Duryea and Louisa Melvina Turner and died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but spent most of his life working in Springfield, Massachusetts. It was in Springfield that Charles and his brother, Frank, produced and road-tested America's first gasoline-powered car.[2]

1894 Duryea Automobile at the Tallahassee Antique Car Museum

Biography

He was born on December 15, 1861 near Canton, Illinois to George Washington Duryea and Louisa Melvina Turner.

Charles Duryea and his brother Frank (1869–1967) were initially bicycle makers in Washington, D.C., but later became world-renowned as the first American gasoline-powered car manufacturers, headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts. Generally speaking, Charles engineered the automobiles, while Frank built, tested and raced them.

Tests of the first, gasoline-powered automobile

On September 20, 1893, the Duryea Brothers road-tested the first-ever, working American gasoline-powered automobile in a portion of Springfield, Massachusetts that is now Chicopee, MAssachusetts. The Duryea's "motor wagon" was a used horse drawn buggy that the brothers had purchased for $70 and into which they had installed a 4 HP, single cylinder gasoline engine. The car (buggy) had a friction transmission, spray carburetor and low tension ignition.[3] Frank Duryea test drove it again on November 10[3] — this time in a prominent location: past their garage at 47 Taylor Street in Springfield. The next day it was reported[3] by The Republican newspaper with great fanfare.

This particular car was put into storage in 1894 and stayed there until 1920, when it was rescued by a former Duryea engineer Inglis M. Uppercu[4] and presented to the United States National Museum.[3]

He was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1973.[5][6]

The Duryea Motor Wagon Company

On November 28, 1895 in Chicago, their vehicle, driven by brother Frank, had won America's first car race. It ran to Evanston, Illinois and back. The only other finisher was one of three Benz cars mostly made in Germany. After Frank won, demand grew for the Duryea Motor Wagon. In 1896, the Duryea Brothers produced 13 cars by hand — in their garage at 47 Taylor Street — and thus Duryea became the first-ever commercially produced vehicle, and also the largest automobile factory in the United States.[7] For the history of the company and its cars, see Duryea Motor Wagon Company.[8]

Charles Duryea sought out investors and buyers while his brother, Frank Duryea, primarily handled the mechanical side of the business.[9]

A Duryea car was involved in the world's first known auto accident.[10] New York City motorist Henry Wells hit a bicyclist with his new Duryea. The rider suffered a broken leg, Wells spent a night in jail and the nation's first traffic accident was recorded.[10] Due to low production and extraordinarily pricey cars, e.g. in 1913, George Vanderbilt purchased and drove a Stevens-Duryea, but was one of few people in the United States who could afford one. His 1913 Duryea is Vanderbilt's only original car kept at his Biltmore Estate.[11]

Duryea ceased manufacturing in 1917.[8]

Charles Duryea died of a heart attack[12] in Philadelphia on September 28, 1938 and was buried in Ivy Hill Cemetery, West Oak Lane.[13][1]

Legacy

The annual Duryea Hillclimb is named in his honor.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Charles E. Duryea, Auto Pioneer, Dies. Credited With Building First 'Gasoline Buggy'. Tested in 1892 in Springfield. Car Now In Smithsonian. Won First Race for Horseless Carriages. Inventor of Many Improvements. Tablet Honors Achievement. Won First Automobile Race. Invented Bicycle Improvements". New York Times. September 29, 1938. Retrieved 2012-09-11. Charles E. Duryea, sometimes called the "father of the automobile," died in his home here at 9 A. M. today after an illness of about a year and a half. He was in his seventy-fifth [sic] year.
  2. ↑ May, George W. (January 1, 1996) [1973]. Charles E. Duryea, Automaker. Zero-g Press. ISBN 978-1889849027.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Ehtesham (2009-03-06). "Cars: Duryea's First Car 1893 CE". Bestsellingcars.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2012-03-09.
  4. ↑ "Aeromarine". Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  5. ↑ "Duryea Brothers". theinventors.org. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Charles E. Duryea". Hall of Fame Inductees. Automotive Hall of Fame. 1973. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Frank Duryea wins first U.S. horseless-carriage race – History.com This Day in History – 11/28/1895". History.com. Retrieved 2012-03-09.
  8. 1 2 Berkbile, Don. The 1893 Duryea Automobile, (1964).
  9. ↑ "Duryeas First but It Didn't Last", Automotive News. News Pg. 3 February 26, 1996
  10. 1 2 "The Duryea Brothers — Automobile History". Inventors.about.com. 2010-09-16. Retrieved 2012-03-09.
  11. ↑ "Our Story — Preservation — Vintage Car". Biltmore.com. Retrieved 2012-03-09.
  12. ↑ "Charles Duryea, auto's inventor, taken by death". Ellensburg Daily Record. September 28, 1938. p. 3. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  13. ↑ "Auto Inventor Dies. Charles Duryea Credited With First Gasoline Buggy". Associated Press. September 29, 1938. Retrieved 2012-09-11.

Further reading

Duryea, Charles; Homans, James E. (1916) The Automoble Book Sturgis & Walton, New York; at Open Library. The first chapter briefly surveys the early evolution of automobiles, with mention of his own involvement from 1891 and the famous victory of the Duryea Motor Wagon in the first London-to Brighton race (1996).

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