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René Thomas (racing Driver)
René Thomas (7 March 1886 – 23 September 1975) was a French motor racing champion. Thomas was also a pioneer aviator. He won the 1914 Indianapolis 500. Biography He was born on 7 March 1886 in Périgueux, France. A leading driver in his native France, René Thomas traveled to the United States to compete in the Indianapolis 500 on four occasions. He won the 1914 Indianapolis 500 on his inaugural try driving a Delage. He was given leave from the French Army during World War I so he could continue to race. Laminated spring steel steering wheel were manufactured in the inter-war period engraved with Rene Thomas portrait and signature and were used particularly on Delage motorcars but also championed by racing ace Jean Chassagne on his winning 1922 TT Sunbeam.Motor Sport & Clutton (1948), P.77 On 6 July 1924 at Arpajon, France, Thomas set a new world land speed record when he drove a Delage at . On 28 May 1973 he returned to Indianapolis to drive his winning Delage in a serie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1914 Indianapolis 500
The 4th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 30, 1914. René Thomas was the race winner, accompanied by riding mechanic Robert Laly. Background Race history The Indianapolis Motor Speedway opened in 1909, and the first motorsport event at the track, a series of motorcycle races, was held in August of that year. A series of automobile races were held in 1909, but concerns were raised about the condition of the course after numerous accidents, including a fatality. The track was re-paved at a high-cost to Carl G. Fisher and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation, and further series of races took place in 1910. Fisher was worried about the dwindling attendances at these races, and decided to establish a 500-mile race; double the furthest distance of any previous race at the track. He went on to announce that the track would host no other races during the year, and that the prize for first place would be $25, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hubert Latham
Arthur Charles Hubert Latham (10 January 1883 – 25 June 1912) was a French aviation pioneer. He was the first person to attempt to cross the English Channel in an aeroplane. Due to engine failure during his first of two attempts to cross the Channel, he became the first person to land an aeroplane on a body of water. In August 1909 at the ''Grande Semaine d'Aviation de la Champagne'' he set the world altitude record of in his Antoinette IV. In April 1910 he set the official World Airspeed Record of in his Antoinette VII. Early life Latham was born in Paris into a wealthy Protestant family. His French mother's family were the bankers, ''Mallet Frères et Cie'', and his father, Lionel Latham, was the son of Charles Latham, an English merchant adventurer and trader of indigo and other commodities, who had settled in Le Havre in 1829. Hubert Latham’s English grand-uncles were mercantile traders, merchant bankers and lawyers in the City of London and Liverpool and his h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1975 Deaths
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman are found guilty of the Watergate cover-up. * January 2 ** The Federal Rules of Evidence are approved by the United States Congress. ** Bangladesh revolutionary leader Siraj Sikder is killed by police while in custody. ** A bomb blast at Samastipur, Bihar, India, fatally wounds Lalit Narayan Mishra, Minister of Railways. * January 5 – Tasman Bridge disaster: The Tasman Bridge in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, is struck by the bulk ore carrier , killing 12 people. * January 7 – OPEC agrees to raise crude oil prices by 10%. * January 10– February 9 – The flight of '' Soyuz 17'' with the crew of Georgy Grechko and Aleksei Gubarev aboard the '' Salyut 4'' space station. * January 15 – Alvo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1886 Births
Events January–March * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5– 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson's novella '' Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' is published in New York and London. * January 16 – A resolution is passed in the German Parliament to condemn the Prussian deportations, the politically motivated mass expulsion of ethnic Poles and Jews from Prussia, initiated by Otto von Bismarck. * January 18 – Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England. * January 29 – Karl Benz patents the first successful gasoline-driven automobile, the Benz Patent-Motorwagen (built in 1885). * February 6– 9 – Seattle riot of 1886: Anti-Chinese sentiments result in riots in Seattle, Washington. * February 8 – The West End Riots following a popular meeting in Trafalgar Square, London. * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ralph DePalma
Raffaele "Ralph" De Palma (December 19, 1882 – March 31, 1956) was an Italian-American racecar driving champion who won the 1915 Indianapolis 500. His entry at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame estimates that he won about 2,000 races. DePalma won the 1908, 1909, 1910, and 1911 American AAA national dirt track championships and is credited with winning 24 American Champ car races. He won the Canadian national championship in 1929. DePalma estimated that he had earned $1.5 million by 1934 after racing for 27 years. He is inducted in numerous halls of fame. He competed on boards and dirt road courses and ovals. Biography Born in Biccari, Apulia, Italy, DePalma's family emigrated to the United States in 1893. As a young man he tried bicycle racing with mixed success, but at the age of twenty-two he began racing motorcycles before switching to the automobile dirt track racing circuit in 1909, the year that the American Automobile Association established the n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Indianapolis 500 Winners
The Indianapolis 500 is an annual 200 lap, American open-wheel car race that takes place on the weekend of American Memorial Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave of Indianapolis. It was held as the International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race between 1911 and 1915 before becoming the 300-Mile Liberty Sweepstakes and then reverting to International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race from 1920 until 1980. The American Automobile Association were the governing body of the event between its inception until 1955, then United States Auto Club from 1956 to 1997, and the Indy Racing League/IndyCar from 1998 onwards. Since 1936, each winning driver and team is presented with a small replica of the art deco sterling silver Borg-Warner Trophy, which sees a bas-relief sculpture of the winning driver's face added to the base. The driver receives a laurel wreath made of 33 ivory-colored Cymbidium orchids featuring burgundy tips and 33 miniature flags interwoven ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jules Goux
Jules Goux (6 April 1885 - 6 March 1965) was a French racing driver and Grand Prix motor racing champion. He was also notable for being the first Frenchman, and the first European driver, to win the Indianapolis 500. Biography Influenced by the Gordon Bennett Cup in auto racing, Jules Goux began racing cars in his early twenties. Success came in 1909 on a circuit set up on roads around Sitges, near Barcelona, Spain, when he won the Catalan Cup, a victory he repeated the following year. Because of his racing success, along with Georges Boillot, he was invited by Peugeot Automobile to race for their factory team. As part of a four-man design team led by Paul Zuccarelli and Ernest Henry, Goux helped develop a racecar powered by a radically new Straight-4 engine using a twin overhead cam. Jules Goux won the 1912 Sarthe Cup at Le Mans driving a Peugeot, and in 1913 he travelled with the team to the United States to compete in the Indianapolis 500 race. Goux won the race, becoming ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1921 Indianapolis 500
The 9th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 30, 1921. Ralph DePalma dominated another early running of the 500, but again failed to win. He led 109 laps, and had a two-lap lead at the halfway point. A connecting rod broke, and he dropped out on lap 112. DePalma retired with one win, and 612 laps led in the "500." His laps led record would not be matched for 67 years until Al Unser, Sr. broke it in 1988. Tommy Milton won the first of two 500 victories. He was accompanied by riding mechanic Harry Franck. The only European car to finish was a 1921 Grand Prix Sunbeam driven by Ora Haibe who was placed fifth. Time trials Time trials was scheduled for five days, May 25–29. Four-lap (10 mile) qualifying runs were utilized. A short field of only 26 cars submitted entries, but only 23 cars arrived and prepared to qualify. Mervin Headley's entry was disallowed because only half the entry fee was paid. Two other entries w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1920 Indianapolis 500
The 8th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 31, 1920. Ralph DePalma held a two lap lead when the car stalled on lap 187. His riding mechanic Pete DePaolo ran to the pits to get a can of gasoline, thinking they were out of fuel. DePalma was able to get the car rolling again, and the two rejoined the race. However, during the delay, the lead went to Gaston Chevrolet. Chevrolet himself ran out of fuel on lap 197, but he was able to coast to the pits and refuel. Chevrolet held on to win. Seven months later, he was fatally injured in a crash at Beverly Hills. Chevrolet won the race without a single tire change, a remarkable feat at the time. Chevrolet was accompanied by riding mechanic John Bresnahan. Time trials Four-lap () qualifying runs were introduced in 1920. Previously one-lap runs were used. Ralph De Palma won the pole position at . None of his four laps matched the track record () set the previous year. Box ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1919 Indianapolis 500
The 7th Liberty 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 31, 1919. After a two-year hiatus due to World War I, the Indianapolis 500 returned to competition in 1919. Howdy Wilcox won, accompanied by riding mechanic Leo Banks. More than half the field (19 of 33 cars) consisted of rookie drivers, tied for the most ever, excluding the inaugural race where all 40 cars were considered "rookies." Ralph DePalma, the 1915 winner, and the driver who suffered a defeat in 1912, again put in a strong performance. DePalma led 93 of the first 102 laps, and drove the first half at record-breaking speed. Tire problems, however, necessitated a long pit stop, and DePalma finished in 6th place. Rain was a factor during practice, limiting available track time in the days immediately leading up to time trials. Since most teams did not arrive until later in the month, some cars had very limited preparation time. Qualifying was supposed to be held on just one d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bertram Dickson
Captain Bertram Dickson RHA (21 December 1873 – 28 September 1913) was a pioneer Scottish airman and the first British serviceman to qualify as a pilot. His exploits in the air, watched by Winston Churchill and Lord Kitchener, indirectly led to the creation of the Royal Flying Corps. Bertram Dickson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on 21 December 1873. In 1892 Dickson accompanied the geographer Sir Thomas Holdich to the Andes Mountains to define the border between Chile and Argentina. After officer training at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, Dickson was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Artillery in November 1894. He was promoted to lieutenant in November 1897 and in November 1900 he was promoted to captain. The following May, Dickson was seconded for service with the Foreign Office. By 1908, Dickson was in the Ottoman Armenian city of Van serving as the military attaché and vice-consul. At the beginning of 1910, he enrolled at the Farman f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Farman III
The Farman III, also known as the Henry Farman 1909 biplane, was an early French aircraft designed and built by Henry FarmanHenry Farman's "No.3" Biplane ''Flight'', 24 April 1909, p. 235. in 1909. Its design was widely imitated, so much so that aircraft of similar layout were generally referred to as being of the "Farman" type. Background Henry Farman's first aircraft had been bought from the Voisin brothers in 1907. Soon after his first flights Farman began to modify and improve the design of the aircraft, which was known as either the Farman I or[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
