November 28, 2024 • 30 mins
The 1895 Horseless Carriage Contest sponsored by the Chicago Times-Herald (aka "first" auto-race in America) - a peek into the WHAT, WHY. WHEN. WHERE, WHO beyond the auto history lore of a Duryea victory on a cold and snowy, Thanksgiving Day in Chicago.
David Schmidt is a Director at the Society of Automotive Historians (SAH) as well as Panel Chair for the SAH Bradley Award. He is also a member of the Porsche Club of America and Fuelfed, a private club for enthusiasts of European cars. Born in Detroit, his father and grandfather both worked for GM at Fisher Body. Being a product of a certain generation he experienced the muscle car era first hand cruising the famed Woodward Avenue in the late 1960's. David received a BA from Michigan State University, MA and PhD from Indiana University and after a career in financial services retired from TIAA. As an auto enthusiast, he can be seen driving about town in a 1967 Volvo Amazon or 1989 Porsche Carrera.
The importance of this event is perhaps best captured that same year by Peter Studebaker of the eponymous wagon maker who, with prescience, commended the sponsoring newspaper “... for transferring the manufacture of the motocycle (a term applied to the horseless carriage after a naming contest) concentrating the inventive faculties of the nation on this [horseless carriage] new departure.”
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00:00 The 1895 Horseless Carriage Contest Overview
00:37 Presenter Background: David Schmidt
01:21 Significance of the 1895 Race
02:53 Race Day Preparations and Challenges
07:10 The Thanksgiving Day Race
08:44 Post-Race Analysis and Awards
10:07 Impact and Legacy of the 1895 Race
10:43 Why the 1895 Race Was Held
11:29 The Role of the Chicago Times Herald
14:56 Rescheduling and Final Preparations
16:08 The Birth of American Auto Racing
16:28 Why Chicago?
18:18 The Bicycle Craze and Its Influence
19:44 Chicago: The Transportation Hub
20:30 Unsung Heroes of the Horseless Carriage
21:18 The Tragic Tale of Hieronymus Muller
22:06 Charles B. King: A Prodigious Inventor
23:36 The Electrobat: An Electric Pioneer
24:56 The Battle of Electric vs. Gasoline
26:23 Steinway's Automotive Adventure
27:34 Conclusion and Acknowledgements
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Breakfix's History of Motorsportsseries is brought to you in part
by the International Motor RacingResearch Center, as well as the
Society of Automotive Historians,the Watkins Glen Area Chamber of
Commerce, and the Argettsinger family.
The 1895 Horseless Carriage Contest.
Sponsored by the Chicago Times Herald.
(00:22):
Also known as the firstauto race in America.
This presentation is a peek into the what,why, when, where, and who beyond the auto
history lore of a Duryea victory on a coldand snowy Thanksgiving day in Chicago.
Presenter David Schmidt is adirector at the Society of Automotive
Historians as well as a panelchair for the SAH Bradley Award.
(00:44):
He is also a member of the PorscheClub of America and FuelFed, a private
club for enthusiasts of European cars.
Transcribed Born in Detroit, hisfather and grandfather both worked
for General Motors at Fisher Body.
Being a product of a certaingeneration, he experienced the muscle
car era firsthand, cruising the famedWoodward Avenue in the late 1960s.
David received a B.
(01:04):
A.
from Michigan State University, M.
A.
and Ph.
D.
from Indiana University, andafter a career in financial
services, retired from TIAA.
As an auto enthusiast, He can be seendriving about town in a 1967 Volvo
Amazon or a 1989 Porsche Carrera.
The importance of his presentationis of this auspicious event and
(01:26):
is perhaps best captured that sameyear by Peter Studebaker of the
eponymous wagon maker, who withprescience commended the sponsoring
newspaper quote, for transferring themanufacturer of the motorcycle, a term
applied to the horseless carriage,concentrating the inventive faculties
of the nation on this new departure.
And my endeavor today is to discuss thefirst automobile race in America in 1895.
(01:51):
You and I would be hard pressedto find a more appropriate
introduction to my topic today.
Hiram Percy Maxim, pioneer motor vehicleinventor and umpire in one of the vehicles
entered in the contest, I will explore,wrote the following in his book, quote,
the Times Herald horseless carriage race.
Which I believe was the first motorrace in America was to be held in
(02:12):
Chicago on Thanksgiving day, 1895.
I had yet to learn that being enteredfor a motor race is considerably
different from participating in amotor race and altogether different
from finishing a motor race.
With over 80 entries in this contest,only six appeared at the starting line
and only two finished in regulation.
(02:32):
And because this contest has been sowell documented, today, I will endeavor
to address myself selectively to some ofthe facts and circumstances surrounding
the event by examining questionsof what, why, when, where, and who.
So this is my effort toprovide the context for that
Thanksgiving Day contest in 1895.
(02:53):
Chicago Times Herald, July 9, 1895.
Newspaper reads, prize formotors must be tested in a race.
Milwaukee to Chicago in November,cash rewards for inventors.
The newspaper goes on to say, it is afact which cannot be denied or overlooked.
That the United States is in therear of the procession in this
(03:14):
branch of inventive progress, whileit should be in the front rank.
The horseless carriage is the sensationof the hour in France and Germany,
and already has commanded favorableattention of the English parliament.
These words were an obviousreaction to horseless carriage
races in France, Paris to Iran in1894, Paris to Bordeaux in 1895.
(03:36):
As well as a reaction to inventories inGermany, Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler.
This July 9 announcement, no officialrace date had yet been established, but
it was to be somewhere near November 1.
And significantly, a committee wasto be formed to oversee the race.
Of greater or equal importance, thecommittee represented by the department
of war, the national carriage buildersassociation, and electrical engineers
(03:59):
was to preside over the tests, which weredesigned to obtain vehicle technical data.
Uh, This testing is to becomean important element in
granting the coveted gold medal.
Subsequently, it would be determined thatthe preliminary testing for the racing was
to be held starting October 29 for quote,vehicles, the mode of power of which
will be electricity, steam, oil, gas, orair with a race date set for November 2.
(04:26):
Fast forward to the very morningof Saturday, November 2, the
Chicago Times Herald frontpage reads, Race is postponed.
Judges of the motorcyclecontest yield to pressure.
I'll explain motorcycle in a moment.
Informal trial today.
Inventors not entirelyready for the final event.
Of 83 inventors working on vehicles,less than a handful were ready.
(04:47):
Contest gets postponed again untilThanksgiving day, November 28.
But an exhibition run or consolation raceor the informal trial with a 500 purse to
the winner took place on that Saturday.
For those vehicles that were ready.
Two entries, H.
Mueller Manufacturing Company ofDecatur, Illinois and Duryea Motor
Wagon of Springfield, Massachusettsmade the run while remaining entries
(05:10):
demonstrated their vehicles, butdid not run the entire course.
Mueller won the contest.
Duryea was sidelined when runninginto a ditch, trying to avoid a
collision with a horse drawn wagon.
Two weeks later, rules for theThanksgiving day race were revised
and published on November 16.
There were 27 articles in the rules,such as must have three or more wheels,
(05:30):
must have trumpet, fog horn, or othersignal capable of sounding warning signal
of approach requiring an umpire be ineach vehicle, et cetera, et cetera.
But article 20 seems to me tobe the key to race results.
It reads.
The judges recall the committee I wasmentioned above recall the judges will
base their awards on the showings madein the preliminary tests and in the road
(05:53):
contest in November 28 and making thefinal awards judges will consider and
weigh the general utility and adaptabilityease of control speed economy of operation
cost general appearance and And excellenceof design in each contesting motorcycle.
What is that term?
Well, it was a term applied for horselesscarriages after a naming contest was
(06:15):
sponsored by the Times Herald becausethe term automobile was not yet widely
accepted and perhaps seen by someas too quote Frenchy close quote.
And by the way, there was alsoa publication of the same name,
motorcycle appearing for a fewissues covering developments of this
budding new horseless carriage era.
Preliminary tests for the ThanksgivingDay race began on November 19 in
(06:36):
a building owned by the StudebakerBrothers Manufacturing Company.
They made the facility availablefor race tests, as well as
the exhibition of motorcycles.
Race rules required each vehicle betested before being allowed to compete.
The testing machine was araised platform dynamometer.
Horseless age, the periodical of the time,similar to motorcycle, wrote with this
(06:58):
device it is possible to measure the loadthe vehicle will carry, how steep a grade
it will climb, the consumption of fuel,the power and efficiency of the mechanism.
So we go to race day,which finally arrives.
This is the Chicago Times Heraldof November 29, the following day.
Of 11 entrants the night before, prerace favorite Haynes Apperson Crash
(07:19):
trying to avoid a street car and fourothers failed to make the starting
line with inclement weather, which was12 inches of snow and 60 mile an hour
winds the previous days, leaving ice anddrifts coupled with race temperatures.
In the thirties, a race shortened 54 milecontest commenced with six competitors.
After more than 10 hours, the Duryea Wagonwas first with a speed of 5 miles an hour.
(07:40):
Mueller Benz was second.
The Macy Benz finished the nextday, not in regulation time.
Based upon reports of the umpiresin each vehicle reporting lost
time, any violations, etc.,
Plus testing data, the judge awardswere announced not until December
5th on page three, not on page oneon December 6th in the Times Herald
(08:02):
to the verbiage and award of 2, 000to the Duryea Motor Wagon Company for
best performance in the road race.
For range of speed and pullwith compactness of design,
an award of 1, 500 to H.
Mueller and company motorcyclefor performance in the road
race and economy of operation.
And an award of the Times Herald goldmedal to the Morris Solemn Electrobat, the
(08:26):
name of the electric horseless carriagethat they had for best showing made in
the official tests for ease of control,safety, absence of noise, vibration,
heat or odor cleanliness, and generalexcellence of design and workmanship.
So interestingly, Duryea andMueller get the purse, but
Morris and Salomon get the gold.
A logical question might beasked if the contest was held
(08:47):
on November 28, why did it takeanother week to announce the awards?
On that, the Times Heraldwrote, the problem presented
to judges was a knotty one.
And that problem was, allthree contestants that finished
the race violated the rules.
All went off course, some hadto be pushed, one failed to
finish in the allotted time.
Hence the Times Herald wrote.
It is therefore found that underany construction of the plain rules
(09:10):
of the race, not a contestant hada valid claim to a first award.
And yet, between practicality on the onehand, so many entrants, over 80, with an
abundance of interest in the outcomes,not just race results, but testing
results as well, And then on the otherhand, preserving the newspaper and its
publisher's reputation, somehow closurewas reached and awards were presented.
(09:31):
The test results were announced byHorseless Age in January 1896, quote,
the first scientific investigationof this important subject.
It will be awaited with interest bymanufacturing and technical world.
Well, the report of the committee withdetailed figures and performance came
out on February 16, 1896, coveringhorsepower, fuel economy, and pull.
(09:54):
And this is one scientific Americanin April, 1896 carried a piece
entitled motor vehicle tests.
The engineers submit their report tothe tests made at Chicago, valuable
data for makers and users alike.
So that's what happened in the contestin 1895, a condensed version of a much
larger experience with many tales sharedin print by a variety of participants
(10:16):
in that Thanksgiving Day race.
During my literature review, I came uponthis Saturday Evening Post article that
caught my attention because AlexanderWitten, inventor of the steering
wheel, is the man Henry Ford beatin a sweepstakes race in 1901, which
subsequently helped put Ford on the map.
But I'm jumping ahead about six years.
Wynton began experiments withhorseless carriages in 1893.
(10:38):
Duryea brothers, 1891, 1892.
So I wanted to dig a little deeper.
We know what happened on that Thanksgivingday, but why this race in 1895?
Because according to Horseless Carriage,quote, until the year 1895, few American
inventors devoted any attention to theproblem of mechanical propulsion of
vehicles, and the results of the laborersare generally crude and impractical.
(11:00):
The stimulus of a widespreadpublic interest was lacking then.
Few inventors whose ideas assumed themore practical form were forced to curb
their impatience and wait until the publicshould manifest a livelier curiosity.
That way it was, of course, brief.
Paris to Rwanda in 1894, and then Paristo Bordeaux in 1895 led to an explosion
of efforts on both sides of the pond.
(11:21):
The Horseless Age wrote, the race fromParis to Bordeaux and return last June
was such a phenomenal performance thatall Christendom paused for a moment.
The Chicago Herald Times offeringof cash rewards for inventors
was the spark on this continent.
Inventors had operated inisolation from one another.
Quote, blissfully ignorant that so manyof us began work so nearly the same
(11:42):
without the slightest notion that otherswere working on the same problem, wrote
Hiram Percy Maxim in his book, HorselessCarriage Days, nearly four weeks before
the contest on November 2 in 1895, aletter to the editor of the publication,
the Motocycle, the other HorselessCarriage publication, addressing itself
to the upcoming Times Herald race.
Quote, your action in the TimesHerald has hastened the development
(12:05):
of motorcycle several years.
And what is more important, it has had theeffect of transferring the manufacturer
of the motorcycle from Europe to America.
That letter was written by PeterEvers Studebaker of Studebaker
Brothers Manufacturing Company.
He was the publisher of the TimesHerald newspaper and is credited
with organizing the first auto race.
(12:27):
And as far as I can determine,there are at least four
reasons why this is the case.
First from Colsette in his own words,carried in a Saturday evening post
article, January, 1924, it reads quotein May, 1895 in the Chicago club,
I picked up a copy of El Istracionof Paris containing an account with
illustrations of the Of an automobilerace between Paris and Bordeaux, which
(12:51):
had taken place a few weeks before.
It gave me an idea, a contest inChicago of horseless vehicles.
Second reason for the contest wasthat Colesat felt, quote, the greatest
use of the motor wagon would befor the army and commercial trucks.
He actually turned to president GroverCleveland and asked the war department
to both take charge of the experiments,AKA vehicle testing, as well as the race.
(13:13):
The motorcycle, the publicationwrote in December, 1895.
With armor clad, horseless carriages,capable of climbing fences, running
over rocks and such obstacles and ofbeing moved over the country, Uncle
Sam would have a formidable weapon.
Well, obviously the war departmentheading up the race day committee
had already taken notice and wasawaiting test results along with
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80 plus other interested parties.
The third reason Colsette sponsored therace was he was a shrewd businessman.
Apparently La Petite Journal increasedits own circulation by sponsoring
the 1894 Paris to Iran excursion.
In those days, newspapers hadto scratch for circulation.
There were 29 newspapers in Chicago.
In Carriages Without Horses by RichardSharsberg, He writes, all newspapers were
(13:58):
giving space to the announcement of thecoming race, and it was all good publicity
as much as they hated to have anything todo with promoting a news story fostered
and thrust upon the public for the expresspurpose of advertising a rival journal.
And the fourth reason why Colesat wasto sponsor the race was to celebrate the
50th anniversary of the Times Herald.
This was the ChicagoTribune on Thanksgiving day.
(14:20):
Writing, the day we celebrate the day whenTurkey and football rule could be 2023.
This rival newspaper's frontpage referenced football.
University of Michigan was playingUniversity of Chicago at Marshall
Field in close proximity to the startof the first auto race in America.
Saturday Evening Post wrote.
As they, the vehicles, passed LincolnPark, they were greeted suddenly by
(14:43):
cheers from a crowd of thousands.
These weren't race fans, but attendeesat the football game between University
of Chicago and University of Michigan,who noticed the horseless carriages
slowly working their way up thestreet on that Thanksgiving day.
But wait, according to Colesat's ownarticle in January, 1924, in the Saturday
Evening Post, he said when the contestwas to be held, on the 4th of July.
(15:06):
So let's backtrack a moment.
What happened?
Of the 60 contestants entered at thattime, only one horseless carriage was
ready, Haynes Apperson of Kokomo, Indiana.
So the contest was to berescheduled, possibly to Labor Day.
But then on July 9th, the TimesHerald wrote, The 85 miles between
Chicago and Milwaukee probably affordthe finest roadway for such a test
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that can be found in the country.
Date of the contest will not befar from the 1st of November.
But a month later in August, roadsnorth of Waukegan near Racine,
Wisconsin were judged undesirable.
So the contest would nowstart and end in Chicago.
Contestants, again, not havingtheir vehicles ready, petitioned
for another extension of time.
So it was again, rescheduled backto Thanksgiving day, November 28,
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and the contest from Chicago toWaukegan and back of only 92 miles.
Then due to severe snow storm, 12inches on the 25th of November, a
couple of days before the event,coupled with cold weather, winds, and
snow drifts on race day, the contestdistance was further reduced to 54
miles from Chicago to Evanston and back.
That gets me to.
(16:10):
The question of where a newspaper reporterfor the New York Herald described crowds
in the first race in France, spurringAmerican newspapers to attempt something
like the 1894 Paris Durand race.
So that begs the question, where inAmerica should such an event take place?
New York City?
Kokomo, Indiana?
Allow me to suggest three reasons forthe contest being held in Chicago.
(16:32):
First, I don't believe it's a merecoincidence that the initial horseless
carriage contest in France and the UnitedStates both followed in the sights of
imagination and invention that in thosedays accompanied the world expositions.
Expositions provided opportunitiesfor the newest developments in
machinery, science, and technology.
For example, the Paris Expo of1889 saw escalators, diesels, and
(16:55):
Electric cars and talking films.
Chicago in 1893 introduced the automaticdishwasher, fluorescent light bulbs, the
zipper, and the first electric automobilein America initially developed in 1890.
There were only two horseless carriagesat the Chicago World's Fair, William
Morrison's electric carriage and GottliebDaimler's gas engine quadricycle.
(17:16):
It became apparent that the gas engineDaimler had the more lasting impact.
Elwood Haynes, Ransom Olds, Charles andFrank Duryea, Henry Ford, Charles B.
King, William Packard, all visited theWorld's Fair and examined the Daimler.
They all came to recognize the gasolineengine was likely the better source
of power for horseless carriages.
Even William Steinway of Steinway Pianossaw merit in the gas engine Daimler.
(17:40):
As his archives suggest, the AmericanDaimler Motor Company produced a gas
powered vehicle around 1895 or 1896.
And there was an additionallink between inventors with
curious minds and world's fairs.
Medals and awards were verypopular, especially from world's
fairs in the decade 1890 to 1900.
Paris in 1889, Chicago in 1893,Brussels 1897, Paris in 1900.
(18:05):
So it should come as no surprise thatKolstad in promoting this horseless
carriage event would arrange togive awards for various aspects of
engineering or design innovationcoupled with a prestigious gold medal
for the best horseless carriage.
My second reason for the racebeing in Chicago is bicycles.
Albert Pope helped launch the cyclingcraze in America with the introduction of
his Velocipede under the Columbia brand.
(18:28):
And as you can see that same Columbiabrand was later applied to automobiles.
In 1890, American companiesbuilt 30, 000 bicycles.
60, 1894.
By the mid to late 1800s, Chicago was thehome to nearly 100 bicycle manufacturers.
German immigrant Ignaz Schwinncame to America in 1890 to
(18:48):
explore the bicycle industry.
In 1895, he and a meatpacker, AdolfArnold, formed Arnold Schwinn and Company.
A year later, Schwinn built an electriccar, but decided to proceed no further.
The Rambler name was applied to abicycle in Chicago prior to becoming
a well recognized name in automobilehistory and moving to Chicago.
You can see the transition from Velocipedeto bicycle to automobile, but the bicycle
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craze was on the decline by the mid 1890s.
Albert Pope tried to expand his Columbiabicycle business by hiring Hiram Percy
Maxim under the Pope ManufacturingColumbia Motor Carriage firm.
Alexander Witten had abicycle shop in Cleveland.
He later founded Witten Motor Carriage.
Most interesting, James Fink, author ofAmerica Adopts the Automobile 1895 to
(19:34):
1910 wrote, quote, no preceding technicalinnovation, not even the internal
combustion engine was as important to thedevelopment of automobiles as the bicycle.
That gets to my thirdreason, transportation,
proximity to transportation.
Chicago had become therailroad Mecca of America.
By the 1880s, Cord Scott pointed outthat Chicago had been a central crossover
(19:55):
point for rail and river shipping.
So inventors had the opportunity toship their cars to Chicago rather
than drive and risk any number ofpotential impediments, accidents,
breakdowns, or bad weather.
And indeed that is exactly what RH MacyBenz, yes, that department store Macy,
did after leaving New York for Chicagoand getting no further than Schenectady.
Bicycle department manager, FrankMcPherson had the carriage loaded
(20:18):
onto a train bound for Chicago.
So a Chicago World's Fair, Chicagois the bicycle capital of America
and Chicago as a transportation hub,all contributed to explaining where
the first auto race would be located.
This gets me to inventors andindustrialists having briefly examined
questions of what, why, when, and where.
In closing, I am taking the libertyof selecting a few names who failed to
(20:41):
garner the recognition of the Duryeabrothers, much less the later luminaries
such as Ransom Owls or Henry Ford.
Nevertheless, these three award winnerswere involved in the development of
the horseless carriage from the outset.
A bit about the endeavors of thesecond place finisher, the many
automotive accomplishments ofthe umpire in that second place
vehicle, and the electric poweredgold medal winner, all participants
(21:02):
in that Thanksgiving Day contest.
Then there are two titans ofindustry I found to be of interest,
plus a famous piano manufacturer.
We know the race winner, Duryea Brothers,accredited with building the first
automobile in America and going intoproduction for a number of years, Duryea
Motor Wagon, later Stevens Duryea.
But what of Hieronymus Muller?
The driving force behind thesecond place, Mueller Benz.
(21:23):
He was intrigued with the horselesscarriage because during my interview
with the Mueller museum director,she said either he, or perhaps
his wife was afraid of horses.
So he bought the Benz in April,1895, refined it with such features
as a reverse gear, water cooledradiator, newly designed spark
plugs, all leading to patents.
While horseless carriages were a sidelineto his very successful plumbing business.
(21:44):
He did intend to go into productionwith his own motors, not a Benz motor.
He built half a dozen vehicles,but in 1900, while working on one
of his vehicles, he was exposed toopen flame around gasoline fumes.
The fire resulted in very seriousburns that claimed his life.
His wife was so upset.
She told the Chaundra to sellthe vehicles and the patents.
Thus the brief history about the tragicending of our second place finisher.
(22:06):
Brings me to Charles B.
King.
Charles B.
King was the umpire in that Mueller Bench,driven by Harroneth Mueller's son, Oscar.
King steered that Mueller Bench tosecond place, as Oscar was either
overcome by the wind, snow, and coldweather, or as another tale suggests,
Oscar was given a flask, whiskey, fromwhich to drink to keep his insides warm.
Accepting that Oscar may not have beenaccustomed to alcohol, this apparently
(22:29):
had a very negative consequence ashe was unable to continue driving.
But back to Charles B.
Smith.
He was an inventor who, like many others,could not finish his vehicle, a four
cylinder, four stroke engine in time forthe race, but the vehicle became the first
car on the streets in Detroit in 1896.
He drove Woodward Avenue long beforethe Woodward Avenue Dream Cruise.
(22:50):
A tale often suggests that he wasfollowed that day in a bicycle
by none other than Henry Ford.
King was a prodigiousinventor with 40 patents.
He won the prize at the ColumbiaExposition in Chicago, was recognized
for engineering prowess at home,connected for a time with ransom oals,
and abroad had the opportunity toparticipate in the 1894 race Paris Rouen
with the Stintz Gas Engine Company.
(23:11):
Developed the first eight cylinder engine,left hand drive, proposed the American
Motor League, which many of the automobilepioneers merged into, and in 1904, became
AAA, American Automobile Association.
He helped Henry Ford, workingat the time for Edison in
Detroit, build his quadricycle.
And later he formed the AutomobileOld Timers in 1939, which today is the
(23:34):
automotive hall of fame in Dearborn.
Brings me to the Electrobat.
This is the electric poweredvehicle, nicknamed the Electrobat
by Morris and Solem of Philadelphia,which won the gold medal.
The publication Motorcycle, parrotingthe awards committee wrote, Morris
and Solem get the gold medal in theElectrobat, notwithstanding the fact
that they did not go over the course,but the general excellence of the machine
(23:56):
was shown so decidedly in its officialtests that this award must meet with the
hearty approval of all interested in theperfect development of the motorcycle.
The carriage is very economical,in power, to say nothing of almost
complete absence of noise, vibration,total absence of heat and odor.
Yet Charles B.
King suggests the award was not withoutsome consternation among contestants.
(24:16):
And in fact, in March, 1896, VeronimusMueller has a letter to the editor
that appears in Horseless Age, notingthat quote, it seems as if there was
no first prize as the carriage comingin first received the 2, 000, but
did not receive the gold medal forreasons best known to the judges.
Morrison Salem announced thatthey had plans to manufacture,
sail, and rent their vehicles.
(24:37):
But in 1897, Morrison Salem sold offtheir enterprise, which was later
reincorporated and insured by AlbertPope and the Columbia Automobile Company.
And as for electricity, AlexanderWitten said, electric vehicles
clogged the market, but in the end,opinion turned to gasoline because
it was clean, safe, and dependable.
Which brings me to the tycoonsof the world of electricity.
(24:59):
Westinghouse and Edison competedfor the contract to light
the 1893 Columbia exposition.
Westinghouse underbid Edison and won.
In 1895, George Westinghouse is saidto have started work on a gas engine.
I found no activity of note until1901 when Westinghouse purchased
patents of hub motors, which produceda few electric cars in Chicago.
In 1905, Westinghouse introduced gaspowered vehicles designed in Pittsburgh,
(25:24):
but manufactured by Westinghouse inFrance, production ceased in 1907,
and Edison said in November of 1895,17th of November issue of New York
World, quote, the horse is doomed.
The horseless vehicleis the coming wonder.
Will these vehicles be run by electricity?
I don't think so.
As it looks at present, it would seemmore likely that they will be run by a
(25:45):
gasoline or naphtha motor of some kind.
It's quite possible, however,that an electrical storage
battery will be discovered,which will prove more economical.
But at present, the gasoline ornaphtha motor looks more promising.
And on that Edison never gave up, hopingto develop better performing batteries.
He started in 1899 on an alkaline storagebattery that took 10 years to perfect.
(26:05):
By then the Model T was on its way tocementing its place in the automobile
world, Edison patented an electriccar, building three in 1912, but
they never went into production.
It's been suggested that HenryFord partnered with Edison
around 1914 to explore optionsfor low cost electric cars.
I did not pursue it.
That gets me to Steinway, Steinway ofpiano fame founded American Daimler
(26:28):
motor company in 1888 building motorsusing American rights to Daimler patents.
They were used primarily forstationary machines and boats.
Steinway company had good woodworkingknowledge for boat building,
having been producing pianos.
The archives suggest that therewas a vehicle produced around 1895.
Steinway dies in 1896 and thefirm was declared worthless.
(26:50):
Following Steinway's death, a newDaimler manufacturing company was
formed in 1898, takes over the businessof Daimler Motor and produces the
first Mercedes made in America andcontinues in production until 1913.
And if you visit the Mercedes BenzPublic Archives or the Mercedes Benz
Group magazine, you'll note MercedesBenz still celebrates its original
(27:11):
adventure with William Steinway.
Writing of the Thanksgiving Day Race,America's oldest literary magazine,
Yale Review summed it up withthese words, Thus, amid praise and
ridicule, our pioneer motorists madetheir first feeble assaults upon the
barriers of space that one man hadbuilt and another could keep motion.
Strong in this faith, theysuffered, endured, and conquered.
(27:31):
Yale Review, December, 1895.
So with that, I'd like tothank you for your attention.
Allow me to share the source informationfrom my slides by thanking IMRRC and
SAH, as well as my son and daughter fortheir assistance in cropping, arranging,
coloring, and sizing some of the images.
I look forward to receiving any questions.
Thank you much.
This episode is brought to youin part by the International
(27:53):
Motor Racing Research Center.
Its charter is to collect,share, and preserve the history
of motorsports, spanningcontinents, eras, and race series.
The center's collection embodiesthe speed, drama, and camaraderie
of amateur and professional motorracing throughout the world.
The Center welcomes serious researchersand casual fans alike to share stories of
race drivers, race series, and race carscaptured on their shelves and walls and
(28:16):
brought to life through a regular calendarof public lectures and special events.
To learn more about the Center, visit www.
racingarchives.
org.
This episode is also brought to you bythe Society of Automotive Historians.
They encourage research into anyaspect of automotive history.
The SAH actively supports thecompilation and preservation of papers.
(28:37):
Organizational records, print ephemera andimages to safeguard, as well as to broaden
and deepen the understanding of motorized,wheeled land transportation through
the modern age and into the future.
For more informationabout the SAH, visit www.
autohistory.
org.
(28:57):
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Commerce, and the Argettsinger family.
The 1895 Horseless Carriage Contest.
Sponsored by the Chicago Times Herald.
(00:22):
Also known as the firstauto race in America.
This presentation is a peek into the what,why, when, where, and who beyond the auto
history lore of a Duryea victory on a coldand snowy Thanksgiving day in Chicago.
Presenter David Schmidt is adirector at the Society of Automotive
Historians as well as a panelchair for the SAH Bradley Award.
(00:44):
He is also a member of the PorscheClub of America and FuelFed, a private
club for enthusiasts of European cars.
Transcribed Born in Detroit, hisfather and grandfather both worked
for General Motors at Fisher Body.
Being a product of a certaingeneration, he experienced the muscle
car era firsthand, cruising the famedWoodward Avenue in the late 1960s.
David received a B.
(01:04):
A.
from Michigan State University, M.
A.
and Ph.
D.
from Indiana University, andafter a career in financial
services, retired from TIAA.
As an auto enthusiast, He can be seendriving about town in a 1967 Volvo
Amazon or a 1989 Porsche Carrera.
The importance of his presentationis of this auspicious event and
(01:26):
is perhaps best captured that sameyear by Peter Studebaker of the
eponymous wagon maker, who withprescience commended the sponsoring
newspaper quote, for transferring themanufacturer of the motorcycle, a term
applied to the horseless carriage,concentrating the inventive faculties
of the nation on this new departure.
And my endeavor today is to discuss thefirst automobile race in America in 1895.
(01:51):
You and I would be hard pressedto find a more appropriate
introduction to my topic today.
Hiram Percy Maxim, pioneer motor vehicleinventor and umpire in one of the vehicles
entered in the contest, I will explore,wrote the following in his book, quote,
the Times Herald horseless carriage race.
Which I believe was the first motorrace in America was to be held in
(02:12):
Chicago on Thanksgiving day, 1895.
I had yet to learn that being enteredfor a motor race is considerably
different from participating in amotor race and altogether different
from finishing a motor race.
With over 80 entries in this contest,only six appeared at the starting line
and only two finished in regulation.
(02:32):
And because this contest has been sowell documented, today, I will endeavor
to address myself selectively to some ofthe facts and circumstances surrounding
the event by examining questionsof what, why, when, where, and who.
So this is my effort toprovide the context for that
Thanksgiving Day contest in 1895.
(02:53):
Chicago Times Herald, July 9, 1895.
Newspaper reads, prize formotors must be tested in a race.
Milwaukee to Chicago in November,cash rewards for inventors.
The newspaper goes on to say, it is afact which cannot be denied or overlooked.
That the United States is in therear of the procession in this
(03:14):
branch of inventive progress, whileit should be in the front rank.
The horseless carriage is the sensationof the hour in France and Germany,
and already has commanded favorableattention of the English parliament.
These words were an obviousreaction to horseless carriage
races in France, Paris to Iran in1894, Paris to Bordeaux in 1895.
(03:36):
As well as a reaction to inventories inGermany, Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler.
This July 9 announcement, no officialrace date had yet been established, but
it was to be somewhere near November 1.
And significantly, a committee wasto be formed to oversee the race.
Of greater or equal importance, thecommittee represented by the department
of war, the national carriage buildersassociation, and electrical engineers
(03:59):
was to preside over the tests, which weredesigned to obtain vehicle technical data.
Uh, This testing is to becomean important element in
granting the coveted gold medal.
Subsequently, it would be determined thatthe preliminary testing for the racing was
to be held starting October 29 for quote,vehicles, the mode of power of which
will be electricity, steam, oil, gas, orair with a race date set for November 2.
(04:26):
Fast forward to the very morningof Saturday, November 2, the
Chicago Times Herald frontpage reads, Race is postponed.
Judges of the motorcyclecontest yield to pressure.
I'll explain motorcycle in a moment.
Informal trial today.
Inventors not entirelyready for the final event.
Of 83 inventors working on vehicles,less than a handful were ready.
(04:47):
Contest gets postponed again untilThanksgiving day, November 28.
But an exhibition run or consolation raceor the informal trial with a 500 purse to
the winner took place on that Saturday.
For those vehicles that were ready.
Two entries, H.
Mueller Manufacturing Company ofDecatur, Illinois and Duryea Motor
Wagon of Springfield, Massachusettsmade the run while remaining entries
(05:10):
demonstrated their vehicles, butdid not run the entire course.
Mueller won the contest.
Duryea was sidelined when runninginto a ditch, trying to avoid a
collision with a horse drawn wagon.
Two weeks later, rules for theThanksgiving day race were revised
and published on November 16.
There were 27 articles in the rules,such as must have three or more wheels,
(05:30):
must have trumpet, fog horn, or othersignal capable of sounding warning signal
of approach requiring an umpire be ineach vehicle, et cetera, et cetera.
But article 20 seems to me tobe the key to race results.
It reads.
The judges recall the committee I wasmentioned above recall the judges will
base their awards on the showings madein the preliminary tests and in the road
(05:53):
contest in November 28 and making thefinal awards judges will consider and
weigh the general utility and adaptabilityease of control speed economy of operation
cost general appearance and And excellenceof design in each contesting motorcycle.
What is that term?
Well, it was a term applied for horselesscarriages after a naming contest was
(06:15):
sponsored by the Times Herald becausethe term automobile was not yet widely
accepted and perhaps seen by someas too quote Frenchy close quote.
And by the way, there was alsoa publication of the same name,
motorcycle appearing for a fewissues covering developments of this
budding new horseless carriage era.
Preliminary tests for the ThanksgivingDay race began on November 19 in
(06:36):
a building owned by the StudebakerBrothers Manufacturing Company.
They made the facility availablefor race tests, as well as
the exhibition of motorcycles.
Race rules required each vehicle betested before being allowed to compete.
The testing machine was araised platform dynamometer.
Horseless age, the periodical of the time,similar to motorcycle, wrote with this
(06:58):
device it is possible to measure the loadthe vehicle will carry, how steep a grade
it will climb, the consumption of fuel,the power and efficiency of the mechanism.
So we go to race day,which finally arrives.
This is the Chicago Times Heraldof November 29, the following day.
Of 11 entrants the night before, prerace favorite Haynes Apperson Crash
(07:19):
trying to avoid a street car and fourothers failed to make the starting
line with inclement weather, which was12 inches of snow and 60 mile an hour
winds the previous days, leaving ice anddrifts coupled with race temperatures.
In the thirties, a race shortened 54 milecontest commenced with six competitors.
After more than 10 hours, the Duryea Wagonwas first with a speed of 5 miles an hour.
(07:40):
Mueller Benz was second.
The Macy Benz finished the nextday, not in regulation time.
Based upon reports of the umpiresin each vehicle reporting lost
time, any violations, etc.,
Plus testing data, the judge awardswere announced not until December
5th on page three, not on page oneon December 6th in the Times Herald
(08:02):
to the verbiage and award of 2, 000to the Duryea Motor Wagon Company for
best performance in the road race.
For range of speed and pullwith compactness of design,
an award of 1, 500 to H.
Mueller and company motorcyclefor performance in the road
race and economy of operation.
And an award of the Times Herald goldmedal to the Morris Solemn Electrobat, the
(08:26):
name of the electric horseless carriagethat they had for best showing made in
the official tests for ease of control,safety, absence of noise, vibration,
heat or odor cleanliness, and generalexcellence of design and workmanship.
So interestingly, Duryea andMueller get the purse, but
Morris and Salomon get the gold.
A logical question might beasked if the contest was held
(08:47):
on November 28, why did it takeanother week to announce the awards?
On that, the Times Heraldwrote, the problem presented
to judges was a knotty one.
And that problem was, allthree contestants that finished
the race violated the rules.
All went off course, some hadto be pushed, one failed to
finish in the allotted time.
Hence the Times Herald wrote.
It is therefore found that underany construction of the plain rules
(09:10):
of the race, not a contestant hada valid claim to a first award.
And yet, between practicality on the onehand, so many entrants, over 80, with an
abundance of interest in the outcomes,not just race results, but testing
results as well, And then on the otherhand, preserving the newspaper and its
publisher's reputation, somehow closurewas reached and awards were presented.
(09:31):
The test results were announced byHorseless Age in January 1896, quote,
the first scientific investigationof this important subject.
It will be awaited with interest bymanufacturing and technical world.
Well, the report of the committee withdetailed figures and performance came
out on February 16, 1896, coveringhorsepower, fuel economy, and pull.
(09:54):
And this is one scientific Americanin April, 1896 carried a piece
entitled motor vehicle tests.
The engineers submit their report tothe tests made at Chicago, valuable
data for makers and users alike.
So that's what happened in the contestin 1895, a condensed version of a much
larger experience with many tales sharedin print by a variety of participants
(10:16):
in that Thanksgiving Day race.
During my literature review, I came uponthis Saturday Evening Post article that
caught my attention because AlexanderWitten, inventor of the steering
wheel, is the man Henry Ford beatin a sweepstakes race in 1901, which
subsequently helped put Ford on the map.
But I'm jumping ahead about six years.
Wynton began experiments withhorseless carriages in 1893.
(10:38):
Duryea brothers, 1891, 1892.
So I wanted to dig a little deeper.
We know what happened on that Thanksgivingday, but why this race in 1895?
Because according to Horseless Carriage,quote, until the year 1895, few American
inventors devoted any attention to theproblem of mechanical propulsion of
vehicles, and the results of the laborersare generally crude and impractical.
(11:00):
The stimulus of a widespreadpublic interest was lacking then.
Few inventors whose ideas assumed themore practical form were forced to curb
their impatience and wait until the publicshould manifest a livelier curiosity.
That way it was, of course, brief.
Paris to Rwanda in 1894, and then Paristo Bordeaux in 1895 led to an explosion
of efforts on both sides of the pond.
(11:21):
The Horseless Age wrote, the race fromParis to Bordeaux and return last June
was such a phenomenal performance thatall Christendom paused for a moment.
The Chicago Herald Times offeringof cash rewards for inventors
was the spark on this continent.
Inventors had operated inisolation from one another.
Quote, blissfully ignorant that so manyof us began work so nearly the same
(11:42):
without the slightest notion that otherswere working on the same problem, wrote
Hiram Percy Maxim in his book, HorselessCarriage Days, nearly four weeks before
the contest on November 2 in 1895, aletter to the editor of the publication,
the Motocycle, the other HorselessCarriage publication, addressing itself
to the upcoming Times Herald race.
Quote, your action in the TimesHerald has hastened the development
(12:05):
of motorcycle several years.
And what is more important, it has had theeffect of transferring the manufacturer
of the motorcycle from Europe to America.
That letter was written by PeterEvers Studebaker of Studebaker
Brothers Manufacturing Company.
He was the publisher of the TimesHerald newspaper and is credited
with organizing the first auto race.
(12:27):
And as far as I can determine,there are at least four
reasons why this is the case.
First from Colsette in his own words,carried in a Saturday evening post
article, January, 1924, it reads quotein May, 1895 in the Chicago club,
I picked up a copy of El Istracionof Paris containing an account with
illustrations of the Of an automobilerace between Paris and Bordeaux, which
(12:51):
had taken place a few weeks before.
It gave me an idea, a contest inChicago of horseless vehicles.
Second reason for the contest wasthat Colesat felt, quote, the greatest
use of the motor wagon would befor the army and commercial trucks.
He actually turned to president GroverCleveland and asked the war department
to both take charge of the experiments,AKA vehicle testing, as well as the race.
(13:13):
The motorcycle, the publicationwrote in December, 1895.
With armor clad, horseless carriages,capable of climbing fences, running
over rocks and such obstacles and ofbeing moved over the country, Uncle
Sam would have a formidable weapon.
Well, obviously the war departmentheading up the race day committee
had already taken notice and wasawaiting test results along with
(13:36):
80 plus other interested parties.
The third reason Colsette sponsored therace was he was a shrewd businessman.
Apparently La Petite Journal increasedits own circulation by sponsoring
the 1894 Paris to Iran excursion.
In those days, newspapers hadto scratch for circulation.
There were 29 newspapers in Chicago.
In Carriages Without Horses by RichardSharsberg, He writes, all newspapers were
(13:58):
giving space to the announcement of thecoming race, and it was all good publicity
as much as they hated to have anything todo with promoting a news story fostered
and thrust upon the public for the expresspurpose of advertising a rival journal.
And the fourth reason why Colesat wasto sponsor the race was to celebrate the
50th anniversary of the Times Herald.
This was the ChicagoTribune on Thanksgiving day.
(14:20):
Writing, the day we celebrate the day whenTurkey and football rule could be 2023.
This rival newspaper's frontpage referenced football.
University of Michigan was playingUniversity of Chicago at Marshall
Field in close proximity to the startof the first auto race in America.
Saturday Evening Post wrote.
As they, the vehicles, passed LincolnPark, they were greeted suddenly by
(14:43):
cheers from a crowd of thousands.
These weren't race fans, but attendeesat the football game between University
of Chicago and University of Michigan,who noticed the horseless carriages
slowly working their way up thestreet on that Thanksgiving day.
But wait, according to Colesat's ownarticle in January, 1924, in the Saturday
Evening Post, he said when the contestwas to be held, on the 4th of July.
(15:06):
So let's backtrack a moment.
What happened?
Of the 60 contestants entered at thattime, only one horseless carriage was
ready, Haynes Apperson of Kokomo, Indiana.
So the contest was to berescheduled, possibly to Labor Day.
But then on July 9th, the TimesHerald wrote, The 85 miles between
Chicago and Milwaukee probably affordthe finest roadway for such a test
(15:27):
that can be found in the country.
Date of the contest will not befar from the 1st of November.
But a month later in August, roadsnorth of Waukegan near Racine,
Wisconsin were judged undesirable.
So the contest would nowstart and end in Chicago.
Contestants, again, not havingtheir vehicles ready, petitioned
for another extension of time.
So it was again, rescheduled backto Thanksgiving day, November 28,
(15:49):
and the contest from Chicago toWaukegan and back of only 92 miles.
Then due to severe snow storm, 12inches on the 25th of November, a
couple of days before the event,coupled with cold weather, winds, and
snow drifts on race day, the contestdistance was further reduced to 54
miles from Chicago to Evanston and back.
That gets me to.
(16:10):
The question of where a newspaper reporterfor the New York Herald described crowds
in the first race in France, spurringAmerican newspapers to attempt something
like the 1894 Paris Durand race.
So that begs the question, where inAmerica should such an event take place?
New York City?
Kokomo, Indiana?
Allow me to suggest three reasons forthe contest being held in Chicago.
(16:32):
First, I don't believe it's a merecoincidence that the initial horseless
carriage contest in France and the UnitedStates both followed in the sights of
imagination and invention that in thosedays accompanied the world expositions.
Expositions provided opportunitiesfor the newest developments in
machinery, science, and technology.
For example, the Paris Expo of1889 saw escalators, diesels, and
(16:55):
Electric cars and talking films.
Chicago in 1893 introduced the automaticdishwasher, fluorescent light bulbs, the
zipper, and the first electric automobilein America initially developed in 1890.
There were only two horseless carriagesat the Chicago World's Fair, William
Morrison's electric carriage and GottliebDaimler's gas engine quadricycle.
(17:16):
It became apparent that the gas engineDaimler had the more lasting impact.
Elwood Haynes, Ransom Olds, Charles andFrank Duryea, Henry Ford, Charles B.
King, William Packard, all visited theWorld's Fair and examined the Daimler.
They all came to recognize the gasolineengine was likely the better source
of power for horseless carriages.
Even William Steinway of Steinway Pianossaw merit in the gas engine Daimler.
(17:40):
As his archives suggest, the AmericanDaimler Motor Company produced a gas
powered vehicle around 1895 or 1896.
And there was an additionallink between inventors with
curious minds and world's fairs.
Medals and awards were verypopular, especially from world's
fairs in the decade 1890 to 1900.
Paris in 1889, Chicago in 1893,Brussels 1897, Paris in 1900.
(18:05):
So it should come as no surprise thatKolstad in promoting this horseless
carriage event would arrange togive awards for various aspects of
engineering or design innovationcoupled with a prestigious gold medal
for the best horseless carriage.
My second reason for the racebeing in Chicago is bicycles.
Albert Pope helped launch the cyclingcraze in America with the introduction of
his Velocipede under the Columbia brand.
(18:28):
And as you can see that same Columbiabrand was later applied to automobiles.
In 1890, American companiesbuilt 30, 000 bicycles.
60, 1894.
By the mid to late 1800s, Chicago was thehome to nearly 100 bicycle manufacturers.
German immigrant Ignaz Schwinncame to America in 1890 to
(18:48):
explore the bicycle industry.
In 1895, he and a meatpacker, AdolfArnold, formed Arnold Schwinn and Company.
A year later, Schwinn built an electriccar, but decided to proceed no further.
The Rambler name was applied to abicycle in Chicago prior to becoming
a well recognized name in automobilehistory and moving to Chicago.
You can see the transition from Velocipedeto bicycle to automobile, but the bicycle
(19:12):
craze was on the decline by the mid 1890s.
Albert Pope tried to expand his Columbiabicycle business by hiring Hiram Percy
Maxim under the Pope ManufacturingColumbia Motor Carriage firm.
Alexander Witten had abicycle shop in Cleveland.
He later founded Witten Motor Carriage.
Most interesting, James Fink, author ofAmerica Adopts the Automobile 1895 to
(19:34):
1910 wrote, quote, no preceding technicalinnovation, not even the internal
combustion engine was as important to thedevelopment of automobiles as the bicycle.
That gets to my thirdreason, transportation,
proximity to transportation.
Chicago had become therailroad Mecca of America.
By the 1880s, Cord Scott pointed outthat Chicago had been a central crossover
(19:55):
point for rail and river shipping.
So inventors had the opportunity toship their cars to Chicago rather
than drive and risk any number ofpotential impediments, accidents,
breakdowns, or bad weather.
And indeed that is exactly what RH MacyBenz, yes, that department store Macy,
did after leaving New York for Chicagoand getting no further than Schenectady.
Bicycle department manager, FrankMcPherson had the carriage loaded
(20:18):
onto a train bound for Chicago.
So a Chicago World's Fair, Chicagois the bicycle capital of America
and Chicago as a transportation hub,all contributed to explaining where
the first auto race would be located.
This gets me to inventors andindustrialists having briefly examined
questions of what, why, when, and where.
In closing, I am taking the libertyof selecting a few names who failed to
(20:41):
garner the recognition of the Duryeabrothers, much less the later luminaries
such as Ransom Owls or Henry Ford.
Nevertheless, these three award winnerswere involved in the development of
the horseless carriage from the outset.
A bit about the endeavors of thesecond place finisher, the many
automotive accomplishments ofthe umpire in that second place
vehicle, and the electric poweredgold medal winner, all participants
(21:02):
in that Thanksgiving Day contest.
Then there are two titans ofindustry I found to be of interest,
plus a famous piano manufacturer.
We know the race winner, Duryea Brothers,accredited with building the first
automobile in America and going intoproduction for a number of years, Duryea
Motor Wagon, later Stevens Duryea.
But what of Hieronymus Muller?
The driving force behind thesecond place, Mueller Benz.
(21:23):
He was intrigued with the horselesscarriage because during my interview
with the Mueller museum director,she said either he, or perhaps
his wife was afraid of horses.
So he bought the Benz in April,1895, refined it with such features
as a reverse gear, water cooledradiator, newly designed spark
plugs, all leading to patents.
While horseless carriages were a sidelineto his very successful plumbing business.
(21:44):
He did intend to go into productionwith his own motors, not a Benz motor.
He built half a dozen vehicles,but in 1900, while working on one
of his vehicles, he was exposed toopen flame around gasoline fumes.
The fire resulted in very seriousburns that claimed his life.
His wife was so upset.
She told the Chaundra to sellthe vehicles and the patents.
Thus the brief history about the tragicending of our second place finisher.
(22:06):
Brings me to Charles B.
King.
Charles B.
King was the umpire in that Mueller Bench,driven by Harroneth Mueller's son, Oscar.
King steered that Mueller Bench tosecond place, as Oscar was either
overcome by the wind, snow, and coldweather, or as another tale suggests,
Oscar was given a flask, whiskey, fromwhich to drink to keep his insides warm.
Accepting that Oscar may not have beenaccustomed to alcohol, this apparently
(22:29):
had a very negative consequence ashe was unable to continue driving.
But back to Charles B.
Smith.
He was an inventor who, like many others,could not finish his vehicle, a four
cylinder, four stroke engine in time forthe race, but the vehicle became the first
car on the streets in Detroit in 1896.
He drove Woodward Avenue long beforethe Woodward Avenue Dream Cruise.
(22:50):
A tale often suggests that he wasfollowed that day in a bicycle
by none other than Henry Ford.
King was a prodigiousinventor with 40 patents.
He won the prize at the ColumbiaExposition in Chicago, was recognized
for engineering prowess at home,connected for a time with ransom oals,
and abroad had the opportunity toparticipate in the 1894 race Paris Rouen
with the Stintz Gas Engine Company.
(23:11):
Developed the first eight cylinder engine,left hand drive, proposed the American
Motor League, which many of the automobilepioneers merged into, and in 1904, became
AAA, American Automobile Association.
He helped Henry Ford, workingat the time for Edison in
Detroit, build his quadricycle.
And later he formed the AutomobileOld Timers in 1939, which today is the
(23:34):
automotive hall of fame in Dearborn.
Brings me to the Electrobat.
This is the electric poweredvehicle, nicknamed the Electrobat
by Morris and Solem of Philadelphia,which won the gold medal.
The publication Motorcycle, parrotingthe awards committee wrote, Morris
and Solem get the gold medal in theElectrobat, notwithstanding the fact
that they did not go over the course,but the general excellence of the machine
(23:56):
was shown so decidedly in its officialtests that this award must meet with the
hearty approval of all interested in theperfect development of the motorcycle.
The carriage is very economical,in power, to say nothing of almost
complete absence of noise, vibration,total absence of heat and odor.
Yet Charles B.
King suggests the award was not withoutsome consternation among contestants.
(24:16):
And in fact, in March, 1896, VeronimusMueller has a letter to the editor
that appears in Horseless Age, notingthat quote, it seems as if there was
no first prize as the carriage comingin first received the 2, 000, but
did not receive the gold medal forreasons best known to the judges.
Morrison Salem announced thatthey had plans to manufacture,
sail, and rent their vehicles.
(24:37):
But in 1897, Morrison Salem sold offtheir enterprise, which was later
reincorporated and insured by AlbertPope and the Columbia Automobile Company.
And as for electricity, AlexanderWitten said, electric vehicles
clogged the market, but in the end,opinion turned to gasoline because
it was clean, safe, and dependable.
Which brings me to the tycoonsof the world of electricity.
(24:59):
Westinghouse and Edison competedfor the contract to light
the 1893 Columbia exposition.
Westinghouse underbid Edison and won.
In 1895, George Westinghouse is saidto have started work on a gas engine.
I found no activity of note until1901 when Westinghouse purchased
patents of hub motors, which produceda few electric cars in Chicago.
In 1905, Westinghouse introduced gaspowered vehicles designed in Pittsburgh,
(25:24):
but manufactured by Westinghouse inFrance, production ceased in 1907,
and Edison said in November of 1895,17th of November issue of New York
World, quote, the horse is doomed.
The horseless vehicleis the coming wonder.
Will these vehicles be run by electricity?
I don't think so.
As it looks at present, it would seemmore likely that they will be run by a
(25:45):
gasoline or naphtha motor of some kind.
It's quite possible, however,that an electrical storage
battery will be discovered,which will prove more economical.
But at present, the gasoline ornaphtha motor looks more promising.
And on that Edison never gave up, hopingto develop better performing batteries.
He started in 1899 on an alkaline storagebattery that took 10 years to perfect.
(26:05):
By then the Model T was on its way tocementing its place in the automobile
world, Edison patented an electriccar, building three in 1912, but
they never went into production.
It's been suggested that HenryFord partnered with Edison
around 1914 to explore optionsfor low cost electric cars.
I did not pursue it.
That gets me to Steinway, Steinway ofpiano fame founded American Daimler
(26:28):
motor company in 1888 building motorsusing American rights to Daimler patents.
They were used primarily forstationary machines and boats.
Steinway company had good woodworkingknowledge for boat building,
having been producing pianos.
The archives suggest that therewas a vehicle produced around 1895.
Steinway dies in 1896 and thefirm was declared worthless.
(26:50):
Following Steinway's death, a newDaimler manufacturing company was
formed in 1898, takes over the businessof Daimler Motor and produces the
first Mercedes made in America andcontinues in production until 1913.
And if you visit the Mercedes BenzPublic Archives or the Mercedes Benz
Group magazine, you'll note MercedesBenz still celebrates its original
(27:11):
adventure with William Steinway.
Writing of the Thanksgiving Day Race,America's oldest literary magazine,
Yale Review summed it up withthese words, Thus, amid praise and
ridicule, our pioneer motorists madetheir first feeble assaults upon the
barriers of space that one man hadbuilt and another could keep motion.
Strong in this faith, theysuffered, endured, and conquered.
(27:31):
Yale Review, December, 1895.
So with that, I'd like tothank you for your attention.
Allow me to share the source informationfrom my slides by thanking IMRRC and
SAH, as well as my son and daughter fortheir assistance in cropping, arranging,
coloring, and sizing some of the images.
I look forward to receiving any questions.
Thank you much.
This episode is brought to youin part by the International
(27:53):
Motor Racing Research Center.
Its charter is to collect,share, and preserve the history
of motorsports, spanningcontinents, eras, and race series.
The center's collection embodiesthe speed, drama, and camaraderie
of amateur and professional motorracing throughout the world.
The Center welcomes serious researchersand casual fans alike to share stories of
race drivers, race series, and race carscaptured on their shelves and walls and
(28:16):
brought to life through a regular calendarof public lectures and special events.
To learn more about the Center, visit www.
racingarchives.
org.
This episode is also brought to you bythe Society of Automotive Historians.
They encourage research into anyaspect of automotive history.
The SAH actively supports thecompilation and preservation of papers.
(28:37):
Organizational records, print ephemera andimages to safeguard, as well as to broaden
and deepen the understanding of motorized,wheeled land transportation through
the modern age and into the future.
For more informationabout the SAH, visit www.
autohistory.
org.
(28:57):
We hope you enjoyed another awesomeepisode of Brake Fix Podcast brought
to you by Grand Touring Motorsports.
If you'd like to be a guest onthe show or get involved, be sure
to follow us on all social mediaplatforms at GrandTouringMotorsports.
And if you'd like to learn moreabout the content of this episode,
be sure to check out the followon article at GTMotorsports.
(29:18):
org.
We remain a commercial free and noannual fees organization through
our sponsors, but also throughthe generous support of our fans,
families, and friends through Patreon.
For as little as 2.
50 a month, you can get access to morebehind the scenes action, additional Pit
Stop mini sodes, and other VIP goodies, aswell as keeping our team of creators safe.
(29:41):
Fed on their strict diet of figNewtons, gummy bears, and monster.
So consider signing upfor Patreon today at www.
patreon.
com forward slash GT motorsports,and remember without you, none
of this would be possible.
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