Charles_Faroux_at_the_1922_French_Grand_Prix_(2)

Charles_Faroux,_World_Championship_45-2,_1922-May_02

Charles Faroux (29 December 1872 – 1957) was a French

motorsport Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

official, race director of the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...

from 1923 to 1956, and three-time world champion at

carom billiards Carom billiards, sometimes called carambole billiards, is the overarching title of a family of cue sports generally played on cloth-covered, billiard tables. In its simplest form, the object of the game is to score or "counts" by ' one's o ...

Early life and career

Charles Faroux was born on December 29, 1872, as the son of a sheep trader and spent much time traveling until he was 28 years old. He visited the United States and spent several months in

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

. There he came in touch with

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

for the first time and on his return to France in 1900, he began working as a journalist for the automobile magazine ''l'Auto''. A trained mechanical engineer, he became interested in automotive engineering and motorsport and was also active as a racing driver. In 1908, he participated in the

Coppa Florio The Coppa Florio (or Florio Cup) was a motorsport race for automobiles first held in Italy in 1900. It was renamed in 1905 when Vincenzo Florio offered the initial 50,000 Lira prize money and a cup designed by Polak of Paris. The cup was to be awa ...

, where he broke down with a defect in his

Motobloc Motobloc was a French automobile manufacturer, building vehicles from 1902 to 1931 in a factory in Bordeaux. History The company was a descendant of the earlier Schaudel marque, which was noted for the development of an innovative engine design w ...

model. During World War I, Faroux served in the

French army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

and fought at the Battle for Verdun. He saw the end of the war as a technician for

Hispano-Suiza Hispano-Suiza () is a Spanish automotive–engineering company. It was founded in 1904 by Marc Birkigt and Damian Mateu as an automobile manufacturer and eventually had several factories in Spain and France that produced luxury cars, aircraft en ...

, where he was responsible for the supply of aircraft engines.

Motorsport

Faroux became internationally known through the

, which he established in 1923 together with Georges Durand and Emile Coquille. Durand and Faroux developed the first set of technical regulations. For more than three decades, the race director was often the last and many times the sole authority when it came to deciding which team to race. Between

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

and

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

, Faroux was also a starter at the

Grand Prix of Monaco The Monaco Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de Monaco) is a Formula One motor racing event held annually on the Circuit de Monaco, in late May or early June. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigiou ...

Carom billiards

Faroux was one of the best

players in the 1900-1920s. In 1905, he competed in his first world carom billiards championships, and at the 1907 event reached second place, which he accomplished again in 1910. In 1912 and 1919, he won the world championship title in this discipline. Since his motorsport interest often overlapped with the carom billiards interest, producing scheduling conflicts, he said in April 1926 that he would play in the world championships rather than the

Targa Florio The Targa Florio was a public road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near the island's capital of Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 ...

. In 1927, he competed in his last world championship, winning that event, and afterwards devoted all of his time to motorsport.

Personal life

In 1953, Faroux became a

Knight of the Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

. Faroux died in 1957 in

Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; literally 'Neuilly on Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is a commune in the department of Hauts-de-Seine in France, just west of Paris. Immediately adjacent to the city, the area is composed of mostly select residentia ...

near

Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Championships and accomplishments

Balkline Balkline is the overarching title of a group of carom billiards games generally played with two and a red on a -covered, 5 foot × 10 foot, billiard table. The object of the game is to score points, also called ''counts'', by a play ...

-45.2 World Championships **Winner: 1912, 1919 **Runner-up:1907, 1910, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1927 **Semi-finals:1914, 1920 * Balkline-45.1 World Championships **Winner:1927 * Balkline-45.2 European Championships **Runner-up:1926

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Faroux, Charles 1872 births 1957 deaths French carom billiards players French racing drivers Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur 24 Hours of Le Mans