Charles Lucien Basle (born Baslé, January 8, 1885 – February 4, 1962) was a French-American

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

Life

Basle was born in

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. In 1903, at age 18, Basle emigrated to the United States, landing in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. He married Edna (née Temple) in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, before migrating to California. According to his federal naturalization record (available a

he did not become an American citizen until March 1941. Basle did most of his racing in the 1900s and early 1910s. He won a 24 Hour race at Brighton Beach Race Course, Brighton Beach in August 1909. Basle made nine starts in AAA sanctioned races, including 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 Triple Crown of Motorsport, most prestigious automob ...

. After a 10-year break, Basle made a surprise reappearance at the Los Angeles Speedway board track in 1921. His younger brother, Marcel, died in a racing accident at Chicago in June 1911. Basle lived in Los Angeles for many years, where he worked in the auto industry. He eventually operated an auto repair business. He is buried in San Gabriel Mission Cemetery in

San Gabriel, California San Gabriel (Spanish language, Spanish for "Gabriel, St. Gabriel") is a city located in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 39,568. San Gabriel was founded ...

Motorsports career results

Indianapolis 500 results

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Basle, Charles 1885 births 1962 deaths Indianapolis 500 drivers French emigrants to the United States Racing drivers from Paris Racing drivers from Boston Racing drivers from Massachusetts