Pierre-Joseph Ravel (1832–1908) was a Swiss civil engineer and inventor, father of the composer
Maurice Ravel
Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...
. He was a pioneer of the automobile industry.
He invented and drove the steam-powered automobile in the late 1860s, developed an acetylene-powered two-stroke engine, built the racing car that could achieve speeds of up to and built a vehicle that could perform a somersault.
Early years
Pierre-Joseph Ravel was born in
Versoix
Versoix () is a municipality in the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland, which sits on the north-west side of Lake Geneva, north-east of the city of Geneva.
Geography
Versoix has an area, , of . Of this area, or 29.1% is used for agricultural purpo ...
, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland in 1832.
His father, Aimé (or Ami) Ravel, was born in
Collonges-sous-Salève
Collonges-sous-Salève (, literally ''Collonges under Salève''; frp, Colonges), popularly known as Collonges, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. It is located on the Swiss borde ...
in France.
He moved to Versoix where he worked as a baker and became a Swiss citizen in 1834 through marriage to a young Swiss girl, Caroline Grosfort.
They had five children – Pierre-Joseph, Marie, Alexandrine, Louise and Edouard.
The youngest, Edouard Ravel, became a talented painter. Pierre Joseph was interested in music as a child.
Pierre-Joseph Ravel became a civil engineer.
After completing his engineering studies, he directed the construction of the railway line from Madrid to Irun in Spain.
He had moved to Paris by 1868.
On 2 September 1868, he obtained a patent for a "steam generator heated by oil, applied to locomotion".
Afterwards, he invented a supercharged two-stroke engine.
Ravel drove his steam-driven automobile for short trips in the industrial areas around Paris just before the Franco-Prussian War of 1870.
During the war, the shed where the machine was stored was buried under the fortifications built for the defence of Paris, and Ravel was ruined.
Soon after the war he again became involved in railroad construction in Spain.
Married life
Ravel met his future wife, Marie Delouart (1840–1917), in
Aranjuez
Aranjuez () is a city and municipality of Spain, part of the Community of Madrid.
Located in the southern end of the region, the main urban nucleus lies on the left bank of Tagus, a bit upstream the discharge of the Jarama. , the municipality h ...
, near Madrid.
She was from a Basque background. They married in Paris on 3 April 1873.
Both of them were Catholics.
Their first son,
Joseph-Maurice Ravel
Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...
Hermance
Hermance () is a municipality of the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland.
History
Hermance is first mentioned in 1247 as ''intra Armentia''. In 1271 it was mentioned as ''Eremencia''.
Geography
Hermance has an area, , of . Of this area, or 57.6% ...
, at the end of Lake Geneva.
Pierre-Joseph Ravel died in 1908.