Gilbert Andersen (sometimes misspelled Anderson) (27 November 1879 – 20 September 1930) was a

Norwegian-American Norwegian Americans ( nb, Norskamerikanere, nn, Norskamerikanarar) are Americans with ancestral roots in Norway. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the latter half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the ...

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 organi ...

active during the formative years of auto racing.

Biography

Gilbert "Gil" Andersen was born on 27 November 1879 in Horten,

Vestfold Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered t ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. He later became a citizen of the United States. He married Elsie Olsen on 3 March 1909 in Minneapolis, Hennepin, Minnesota He competed in the first six

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 ...

races, appearing in annual races from 1911 through 1916. For the

1911 Indianapolis 500 The 1911 International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Tuesday, May 30, 1911. It was the inaugural running of the Indianapolis 500, which is one of the most prestigious automobile races in the world. Ray ...

, all of the drivers except for Gil Andersen were American citizens. One of his major victories was in the 1913 Elgin Road Race, which he won at an average speed of 71 mph. On October 9, 1915, Andersen set a new auto speed record of 102.6 mph, winning the first Astor Cup race at Sheepshead Bay. N.Y. In 1928 Andersen established a new American stock car speed record, when he clocked 106.52 mph in a Stutz

Blackhawk Black Hawk and Blackhawk may refer to: Animals * Black Hawk (horse), a Morgan horse that lived from 1833 to 1856 * Common black hawk, ''Buteogallus anthracinus'' * Cuban black hawk, ''Buteogallus gundlachii'' * Great black hawk, ''Buteogallus uru ...

on the measured mile at Daytona Beach, Florida. He worked as an engineer for the

Stutz Motor Company The Stutz Motor Car Company, was an American producer of high-end sports and luxury cars based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Production began in 1911 and ended in 1935. Stutz was known as a producer of fast cars including America's first spo ...

. Stutz was in operation from 1911 and continued through 1935. Gil Andersen also was an engineer for the ReVere Motor Company. ReVere Motor Company was located in Logansport, Cass County, Indiana is a defunct luxury car manufacturing company which was in operation from 1918 until 1926. Gil Andersen died of pulmonary tuberculosis on September 20, 1930 in

Logansport, Indiana Logansport is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, Indiana, United States. The population was 18,366 at the 2020 census. Logansport is located in northern Indiana at the junction of the Wabash and Eel rivers, northwest of Kokomo. H ...

at age 51.

Indy 500 results

''Gil Andersen, Extended driver stats'' (ChampCarStats.com)
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Images

File:Stutz wrecked - Indianapolis LCCN2014690425.jpg, Gil Andersen's crashed Stutz at T3 in the

1912 Indianapolis 500 The 1912 Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, or International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race, the second such race in history, was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday, May 30, 1912. Indiana-born driver Joe Dawson won the race, leadin ...

File:Gil Andersen in 1910s.jpg, Gil Andersen at the

1915 Indianapolis 500 The 5th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 31, 1915. The traditional race date of May 30 fell on a Sunday, but race organizers declined to schedule the race for Sunday. The race was ...

File:1916Indianapolis500Field.jpg, Andersen's #28 car (second from left), preparing for the 1916 Indianapolis 500

References

External links

*
The ReVere Motor Company

Stutz Club
1879 births 1935 deaths People from Horten Norwegian racing drivers Norwegian emigrants to the United States American racing drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 polesitters Sportspeople from Vestfold og Telemark {{Norway-sport-bio-stub