Václav Laurin (27 September 1865 – 3 December 1930) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

industrialist A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...

and automotive pioneer. He, along with Václav Klement, founded automobile manufacturer Laurin & Klement that later became

Škoda Auto Škoda Auto Akciová společnost, a.s. (), often shortened to Škoda, is a Czech automobile manufacturer established in 1925 as the successor to Laurin & Klement and headquartered in Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic. Škoda Works became State ow ...

, the largest Czech company.

Biography

Laurin was born on 27 September 1865 in Kamení,

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

(today part of Pěnčín, Czech Republic). He apprenticed as a

locksmith Locksmithing is the work of creating and bypassing locks. Locksmithing is a traditional trade and in many countries requires completion of an apprenticeship. The level of formal education legally required varies by country, ranging from no formal ...

Mladá Boleslav Mladá Boleslav (; ) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 47,000 inhabitants. It lies on the left bank of the Jizera (river), Jizera River. Mladá Boleslav is the second most populated city in the region. I ...

in 1883–1886. In 1893, he studied the design and basics of steam engines in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

. In 1894, he married Emilie Marie Beranová. In 1895, he met Václav Klement in Mladá Boleslav. They became friends and in September of the same year they established the company Laurin & Klement in Mladá Boleslav. At the beginning of December 1895, the mechanic Václav Laurin and the book-seller Václav Klement, both

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...

enthusiasts, started manufacturing bicycles of their own design, patriotically named Slavia in the

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

atmosphere of the end of the 19th century. From 1899, the company manufactured motorcycles. Thanks to Laurin's innovations and Klement's business skills, the company experienced rapid development and began exporting motorcycles all over the world. In 1905, Laurin manufactured their first

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

called Laurin & Klement A –

voiturette A voiturette is a miniature automobile. History ''Voiturette'' was first registered by Léon Bollée in 1895 to name his new motor tricycle. The term became so popular in the early years of the motor industry that it was used by many makers ...

. Laurin was prominently engaged in the Laurin & Klement company and contributed significantly to its success. He participated in the construction of vehicles. Since 1925, when Laurin and Klement sold their company to

Škoda Works The Škoda Works (, ) was one of the largest European industrial conglomerates of the 20th century. In 1859, Czech engineer Emil Škoda bought a foundry and machine factory in Plzeň, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary that had been established ten ye ...

, the company has been known as

. From the merger until Laurin's death, he remained

technical director A technical director (TD) is usually a senior technical person within e.g. a software company, engineering firm, film studio, theatre company or television studio. They are responsible for overseeing and coordinating all of the technical aspect ...

of the company, but no longer had any influence on the company's operations. Laurin died on 3 December 1930 in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. He is buried in Mladá Boleslav, close to Václav Klement.

Honours

There is a memorial plaque on Laurin's birthplace, house No. 9 in the village of Kamení. A street in the centre of Mladá Boleslav is named Laurinova in honour of Václav Laurin. The Memorial of Václav Laurin and Václav Klement, which includes statues of both men, stands in front of the Škoda Museum in Mladá Boleslav. It was made of

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

in 2005.

Gallery

Laurin and Klement statue in Mlada Boleslav, Czechia.jpg, Memorial of Václav Laurin and Václav Klement Hrobka-V.Laurin,Ml.Boleslav.jpg, Tomb of Václav Laurin and his family 12-01-11-autostadt-wolfsburg-by-RalfR-301.jpg, Laurin & Klement A Laurinova vila, Ml.Boleslav.jpg, Laurin's villa in Mladá Boleslav

References

External links

Václav Laurin biography
on Škoda Auto website
Václav Laurin (27.9.1865 – 4.12.1930): Konstruktér prvního českého motocyklu a automobilu
on zivotopisyonline.cz {{DEFAULTSORT:Laurin, Vaclav 1865 births 1930 deaths People from Liberec District 20th-century Czech businesspeople Czech engineers European founders of automobile manufacturers Czech automotive pioneers Škoda people 19th-century Czech businesspeople Engineers from Austria-Hungary Businesspeople from Austria-Hungary Czech people from Austria-Hungary Czechoslovak businesspeople Czech company founders