Louise Sarazin, Louise Sarazin-Levassor, (November 6, 1847,

Foix Foix (; oc, Fois ; ca, Foix ) is a commune, the former capital of the County of Foix. It is the capital of the department of Ariège as it is the seat of the Préfecture of that department. Foix is located in the Occitanie region of southwe ...

, † 16 October 1916,

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 ...

), played a significant role in early automotive history having been party to its beginnings in France and Germany. She was the wife of Edouard Sarazin, an entrepreneurial

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

industrialist and patents lawyer who was in a mix of automotive partnerships and agencies with

Émile Levassor Émile Constant Levassor (21 January 1843 – 14 April 1897) was a French engineer and a pioneer of the automobile industry and car racing in France. Biography Levassor was born in Marolles-en-Hurepoix. After studying engineering and graduatin ...

, René Panhard, John Cockerill,

Deutz AG Deutz AG is a German internal combustion engine manufacturer, based in Porz, Cologne, Germany. History The company was founded by Nicolaus Otto, the inventor of the four-stroke internal combustion engine, and his partner Eugen Langen on 31 ...

Gottlieb Daimler Gottlieb Wilhelm Daimler (; 17 March 1834 – 6 March 1900) was a German engineer, industrial designer and industrialist born in Schorndorf (Kingdom of Württemberg, a federal state of the German Confederation), in what is now Germany. He was a ...

and

Wilhelm Maybach Wilhelm Maybach (; 9 February 1846 – 29 December 1929) was an early German engine designer and industrialist. During the 1890s he was hailed in France, then the world centre for car production, as the "King of Designers". From the late 19th ce ...

. In 1884 Sarazin acquired the licence to build Deutz engines in France, which he duly contracted to Perin, Panhard & Cie in Paris. Around 1886 he similarly acquired licences to build Daimler engines in France and started to commission Panhard & Levassor in Paris. After his death in 1887 his widow Louise developed the business relationships and negotiated the partnerships with Daimler and 'Panhard et Levassor'. In 1890 she married Emile Levassor.James M. Laux: '' In First Gear. The French automobile industry to 1914. '' McGill-Queen’s University Press, Montreal 1976, ISBN 0-7735-0264-5.Reinhard Seiffert: ''The era of Gottlieb Daimler''(Die Ära Gottlieb Daimlers).Cyber Motorcycle
/ref>

Early life

Louise Cayrol was born in 1847 in

, in the

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...

of Ariège in

southern France Southern France, also known as the South of France or colloquially in French language, French as , is a defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi ...

. Her parents were Antoine Cayrol and Jeanne Cayrol (nee Bonnafous), and her sister was named Anne. In 1870, in Paris, she married Edouard Sarazin, a patents lawyer from

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, and they had three children, including a daughter Jeanne in 1878 and a son Auguste Henri born in

Asnières-sur-Seine Asnières-sur-Seine () is a Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department and Île-de-France Regions of France, region of north-central France. It lies on the left bank of the river Seine, some eight kilometr ...

in 1880.

Automotive industry

Edouard Sarazin was an entrepreneurial industrialist, patents lawyer and pioneer of automotive engineering, who was in a mix of automotive partnerships and agencies with

, John Cockerill,

, and

. In 1884 Sarazin, the representative of the German company Gasmotorenfabrik Otto & Langen (Deutz AG) acquired the licence to build Deutz engines in France, which he duly contracted to Perin, Panhard & Cie in Paris. Around 1886/7 he similarly acquired licences to build Daimler engines in France, and to conform to French Patent Law he commissioned Panhard & Levassor to produce "some" Daimler engines in Paris. His untimely death in 1887 left his widow to develop the business relationships and complete the partnership with Daimler. On February 5, 1889, she signed a contract in which Daimler received 12% of the sales price of all engines produced in France and she received 20% from Panhard & Levassor.Motor Museum in Miniature - Louise Sarazin
/ref>

Death-bed wish

Sarazin's deathbed words to his wife were: ''"In your own interests, and for the good of our children, I recommend that you maintain the business connection with Daimler. His invention is entirely trustworthy, and it will have a future, the magnitude of which we cannot begin to imagine today."'' He also asked that she maintain the relationship with Levassor and Panhard. To wit ...

Levassor

In May 1890 Mme. Louise Sarazin married Emile Levassor. During the 1896 Paris–Marseille–Paris race, he swerved to avoid a dog, crashed and was seriously injured. He never fully recovered and died in Paris the following year.

Literature

* Reinhard Seiffert: ''Die Ära Gottlieb Daimlers. Neue Perspektiven zur Frühgeschichte des Automobils und seiner Technik.'' Vieweg+Teubner, Wiesbaden 2009, ISBN 978-3-8348-0962-9. * Reinhard Seiffert: The era of Gottlieb Daimler. New perspectives on the early history of the automobile and its technology. Vieweg + Teubner, Wiesbaden 2009, ISBN 978-3-8348-0962-9 .

References

External links

* French Motorcycles - Levassor and

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* History Garage.com - Emile Levasso

* Daimler.com - Louise Sarazin and Bertha Benz. Two women with "Gasoline in the Blood

*Reinhard Seiffert: The era of Gottlieb Daimler. * John Cockerill and Co (Grace's guide

* The Motor Museum in Miniature - Louise Sarazin-Levassor

* The Pit-crew Online. The Inventor, An Engine, A Love Story

* James M. Laux: In First Gear. The French automobile industry to 1914. McGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal 1976, ISBN 0-7735-0264-5. Pages 10,11,14,16. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sarazin, Louise 1847 births 1916 deaths Daimler vehicles French automotive pioneers People associated with the internal combustion engine People from Foix 19th-century French businesspeople Panhard vehicles