George Singer (1846 – 4 January 1909) was an English cycle manufacturer who was a pioneer of both cycle and automobile development. Singer was born at

Stinsford Stinsford is a village and civil parish in southwest Dorset, England, about east of Dorchester. The parish includes the settlements of Higher and Lower Bockhampton. The name Stinsford may derive from , Old English for a limited area of pasture. ...

, Dorset in 1847, the son of George and Helen Singer. He served an apprenticeship at Penn's Engineering Works in

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

and in 1869 he moved to

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

to work at the

Coventry Machinist Company Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

. Around 1874 he started his own company to manufacture cycles, Singer & Co, in 1894 that became Singer & Co Ltd, and in 1896 the

Singer Cycle Company Singer Motors Limited was a British motor vehicle manufacturing business, originally a bicycle manufacturer founded as Singer & Co by George Singer, in 1874 in Coventry, England. Singer & Co's bicycle manufacture continued. From 1901 George S ...

, that soon grew into a large business and also in 1896, at the height of popularity for cycles, he floated his business as a company with a capital of £700,000 reverting to Singer & Co Ltd. The development of forks with curves is attributed to him. SingerMotorcycle

Singer was elected to the Coventry city council in 1881; he became an alderman in 1893 and also served as Mayor of Coventry from 1891 to 1894. He resigned from the council in 1898 as his interests were more with philanthropy and charity than politics. Singer died on 4 January 1909, aged 62 at his home at Coundon Court near

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singer, George 1874 births 1909 deaths English mechanical engineers British cycle designers British founders of automobile manufacturers People from Dorset Coventry City Councillors Mayors of Coventry 19th-century British businesspeople