Alphonse Loubat (15 June 1799 – 10 September 1866) was a French inventor who developed improvements in

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

and

rail Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' ( ...

equipment, and helped develop tram lines in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. Loubat was born in

Sainte-Livrade-sur-Lot Sainte-Livrade-sur-Lot (, literally ''Sainte-Livrade on Lot''; Languedocien: ''Senta Liurada'') is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department in south-western France. Geography Sainte-Livrade-sur-Lot is located along the banks of the river L ...

. He went to New York City in 1827 where he helped develop that city's first tramway in 1832. He returned to France and in 1852 developed the grooved rail, which greatly facilitated street railways and tramlines. Besides he planted wine in Brooklin and wrote on wine.Loubat, Alphonse: ''The American Vine Dresser's Guide.'' New York: D. Appleton & Co, 1827, reprinted in 1872. He died in

Ville-d'Avray Ville-d'Avray () is a Communes of France, commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris. The commune is part of the arrondissement of Boulogne-Billancourt in the Hauts-de-Seine Department ...

. Joseph Florimond Loubat was his son.

References

1799 births 1866 deaths 19th-century French inventors Burials at Passy Cemetery Engineers from Paris Engineers from New York City {{France-engineer-stub