Caleb Smith Bragg (23 November 1885 – 24 October 1943) was an American

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 organis ...

, speedboat racer, aviation pioneer, and automotive inventor. He participated in the 1911, 1913 and 1914

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 ...

. In speedboat racing, Caleb won three consecutive

APBA Challenge Cup The Detroit Hydrofest (branded as the Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers Detroit Hydrofest for sponsorship reasons) is a H1 Unlimited hydroplane boat race held in August on the Detroit River in Detroit, Michigan. History The first race held on the Det ...

races in Detroit from 1923-1925. He was a co-inventor of the

Bragg-Kliesrath brake A vacuum servo is a component used on motor vehicles in their braking system, to provide assistance to the driver by decreasing the braking effort. In the US it is commonly called a brake booster. A vacuum servo also known as a power booster or ...

Early life

Bragg was born on November 23, 1885 in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

to Cais C. Bragg and Eugenia Hofer who were wealthy.

Education

While at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

he became interested in automobile racing. Bragg graduated from Yale in 1908 and took a post-graduate engineering course at

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of th ...

in 1909.

Career

On October 5, 1912 Bragg driving a 14 liter F.I.A.T. S74 took 1st place at the 1912 American Grand Prize race, the seventh and final race of the 1912 Grand Prix season. It was held at the Wauwatosa Road Race Course in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and was sanctioned by the Automobile Club of America. Caleb Bragg won by over 15 minutes over Erwin Bergdoll and his 9.5 liter 37/90 hp Benz. Bragg's average speed was 68.397 mph (110.074 km/h)."American Grand Prize". ChampCarStats.com. Archived from the original on 2017-10-10. Retrieved 2010-06-26. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

he became interested in flying airplanes and in 1916 he flew his first solo flight; he later set airplane records for speed and

altitude Altitude or height (also sometimes known as depth) is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context ...

. Bragg developed a braking system with

Victor William Kliesrath Victor William Kliesrath (May 27, 1880 – December 21, 1939) was vice president of Bendix Corporation and the inventor of the Bragg-Kliesrath brake with Caleb Bragg. They sold the company to Bendix Corporation in the late 1920s. In speedboat racin ...

called the

. They formed a company in 1920 and

Ethel Merman Ethel Merman (born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann, January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American actress and singer, known for her distinctive, powerful voice, and for leading roles in musical theatre.Obituary '' Variety'', February 22, 1984. ...

was his personal secretary before she became famous. They sold the company to

Bendix Corporation Bendix Corporation is an American manufacturing and engineering company which, during various times in its existence, made automotive brake shoes and systems, vacuum tubes, aircraft brakes, aeronautical hydraulics and electric power systems, ...

in the late 1920s. In speedboat racing, Caleb won three consecutive

races in Detroit from 1923-1925, in 1923 with Packard Chriscraft and the 1924-1925 races with Baby Bootlegger, the 29-foot mahogany wooden speedboat designed for him in 1924 by George Crouch and built by Henry Nevins.

Personal life

Bragg died on 24 October 1943 in

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Indy 500 results

Gallery

Image:Caleb Bragg in Mercer in 1910s.jpg, Bragg in his Mercer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bragg, Caleb 1885 births 1943 deaths American motorboat racers APBA Challenge Cup Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 polesitters H1 Unlimited Members of the Early Birds of Aviation Racing drivers from Ohio Sportspeople from Cincinnati Yale University alumni MIT School of Engineering alumni American aviation record holders