Charles Edgar Duryea (December 15, 1861 – September 28, 1938) was an American engineer. He was the engineer of the first-ever working American gasoline-powered car and co-founder of
Duryea Motor Wagon Company
The Duryea Motor Wagon Company, established in 1895 in Springfield, Massachusetts, was the first American firm to build gasoline automobiles.
History
Founded by Charles Duryea and his brother Frank, the company built the Duryea Motor Wagon, a o ...
.
[ He was born near Canton, Illinois, a son of George Washington Duryea and Louisa Melvina Turner, and died in ]Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, 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.
Biography
Charles Duryea was born on December 15, 1861, near Canton, Illinois, to George Washington Duryea and Louisa Melvina Turner.
Duryea and his brother Frank
Frank or Franks may refer to:
People
* Frank (given name)
* Frank (surname)
* Franks (surname)
* Franks, a medieval Germanic people
* Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang
Curr ...
(1869–1967) were initially bicycle makers in Washington, D.C.
)
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, 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 American gasoline-powered automobile
On September 21, 1893, the Duryea brothers road-tested the first-ever, working American gasoline
Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organi ...
-powered automobile
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarde ...
on the Howard Bemis farm in Chicopee, Massachusetts
Chicopee ( ) is a city located on the Connecticut River in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 55,560, making it the second-largest city in Western Massachusetts after Springfield. ...
. 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. Frank Duryea test drove it again on November 10 — this time in a prominent location: past their garage at 47 Taylor Street in Springfield. The next day it was reported 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 and presented to the United States National Museum
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
.
Duryea was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame
The Automotive Hall of Fame is an American museum. It was founded in 1939 and has over 800 worldwide honorees. It is part of the MotorCities National Heritage Area. the Automotive Hall of Fame includes persons who have contributed greatly to a ...
in 1973.
The Duryea Motor Wagon Company
On November 28, 1895, in Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, their vehicle, driven by brother Frank, had won America's first car race. It ran to Evanston, Illinois
Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, ...
and back. The only other finisher was one of three Benz cars mostly made in Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. After Frank won, demand grew for the Duryea Motor Wagon
The Duryea Motor Wagon was among the first standardized automobiles and among the first powered by gasoline. Fifteen examples were built by the Duryea Motor Wagon Company of Chicopee, Massachusetts, between 1893 and 1896. Their enterprise follo ...
. 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. For the history of the company and its cars, see Duryea Motor Wagon Company
The Duryea Motor Wagon Company, established in 1895 in Springfield, Massachusetts, was the first American firm to build gasoline automobiles.
History
Founded by Charles Duryea and his brother Frank, the company built the Duryea Motor Wagon, a o ...
.
Duryea sought out investors and buyers while his brother, Frank Duryea, primarily handled the mechanical side of the business.
A Duryea car was involved in America's first known auto accident. 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. 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.
Duryea ceased manufacturing in 1917.
Duryea died of a heart attack in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
on September 28, 1938, and was buried in Ivy Hill Cemetery, West Oak Lane.
Legacy
The annual Duryea Hillclimb is named in his honor.
See also
*Elwood Haynes
Elwood Haynes (October 14, 1857 – April 13, 1925) was an American inventor, metallurgist, automotive pioneer, entrepreneur and industrialist. He invented the metal alloy stellite and independently co-discovered martensitic stainless steel ...
, previously credited with the first American gasoline automobile by the Smithsonian Institution
References
Further reading
Duryea, Charles; Homans, James E. (1916)
The Automoble Book
' Sturgis & Walton, New York; at Open Library
Open Library is an online project intended to create "one web page for every book ever published". Created by Aaron Swartz, Brewster Kahle, Alexis Rossi, Anand Chitipothu, and Rebecca Malamud, Open Library is a project of the Internet Archive, ...
. 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).
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Duryea, Charles
1861 births
1938 deaths
American founders of automobile manufacturers
Duryea
People from Canton, Illinois
Businesspeople from Springfield, Massachusetts
Burials at Ivy Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia)
American automotive pioneers
American automotive engineers