David Loney Bruce-Brown (August 13, 1887

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

– October 1, 1912

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

) was an American

racecar driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organis ...

Early life

David Loney Bruce-Brown was born on August 13, 1887, the son of George Bruce-Brown (b. 1844) and Arabella Loney (b. 1853) and the brother of William Bruce-Brown (b. 1886). His father had previously been married to Virginia Greenway McKesson (d. 1878), of the McKesson family, with whom he had two children, Catherine Wolfe Brown (b. 1877) and a son, George McKesson Brown (b.1878). His paternal great-grandfather was George Bruce (1781–1866) and his maternal aunt, Mary Loney (1850–1936), married Frederick Roosevelt (1850–1916), the son of

James I. Roosevelt James John Roosevelt, known as James I. (December 14, 1795 – April 5, 1875) was an American politician, jurist, businessman, and member of the Roosevelt family. From 1841 to 1843, he served one term in the United States House of Representatives, ...

. He attended the Allen-Stephenson School in New York City, and then the Harstrom School in

Norwalk, Connecticut , image_map = Fairfield County Connecticut incorporated and unincorporated areas Norwalk highlighted.svg , mapsize = 230px , map_caption = Location in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Fairfield County and ...

, a prep school for

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

Racing career

Having bluffed his way into auto racing at the age of 18, he turned out to be a natural talent behind the wheel and won the 1908 Daytona Speed Trials. He then went on to win the

American Grand Prize American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

in both

1910 Events January * January 13 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; live performances of the operas '' Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' are sent out over the airwaves, from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York C ...

and

1911 A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...

as well as numerous other races. He also participated in the 1911 and 1912 editions of the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

. He clocked in a 0.33 3-5 world's one-mile amateur straightaway record, beating the previous holder, William K. Vanderbilt Jr.'s record.

Death

Bruce-Brown was killed during practice, along with his mechanic Tony Scudelari, for the 1912 American Grand Prize and 8th running of the

Vanderbilt Cup The Vanderbilt Cup was the first major trophy in American auto racing. History An international event, it was founded by William Kissam Vanderbilt II in 1904 and first held on October 8 on a course set out in Nassau County, New York, Nassa ...

races, which were held in Milwaukee. His car was repaired and driven by Barney Oldfield in the Grand Prize to a 4th-place finish. The coroner's jury which investigated his death determined that the road was too narrow that they were racing on.

Indy 500 results

Gallery

David Bruce-Brown in his Fiat at the 1912 French Grand Prix at Dieppe (19).jpg, Bruce-Brown racing his Fiat at the 1912 French Grand Prix David Bruce-Brown in his Fiat at the 1912 French Grand Prix at Dieppe (4).jpg, Bruce-Brown in his Fiat at the 1912 French Grand Prix File:David Bruce-Brown in his Fiat at the 1912 French Grand Prix at Dieppe (10).jpg, Bruce-Brown the 1912 French Grand Prix David Bruce-Brown and Tony Scudelari - 1912 American Grand Prize Milwaukee.jpg, Bruce-Brown and his mechanic Tony Scudelari, shortly before they were killed in 1912.

References

External links

David Bruce-Brown
at ChampCarStats.com *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruce-Brown, David 1887 births 1912 deaths Indianapolis 500 drivers Grand Prix drivers Racing drivers from New York (state) Racing drivers who died while racing Sports deaths in Wisconsin Sportspeople from New York City Racing drivers from New York City