Georges Louis Frédéric Boillot (; 3 August 1884 – 19 May 1916) was a French

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 ...

and

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

fighter pilot. He died aged 31 after his plane was shot down near

Bar-le-Duc Bar-le-Duc (), formerly known as Bar, is a commune in the Meuse département, of which it is the capital. The department is in Grand Est in northeastern France. The lower, more modern and busier part of the town extends along a narrow valley, ...

by German fighters; he was deemed

Mort pour la France (, ) is a legal expression in France and an honour awarded to people who died during a conflict, usually in service of the country. Definition The term is defined in L.488 to L.492 (bis) of the ''Code of Military Disability Pensions and War ...

Biography

Born in

Valentigney Valentigney () is a Communes of France, commune in the Doubs Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eastern France. Valentigney is best known as the place where Peugeot began operations; se ...

Doubs Doubs (, ; ; ) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. Named after the river Doubs, it had a population of 543,974 in 2019.Paul Zuccarelli Paolo Zuccarelli (occasionally anglicized as Paul, 24 August 1886 – 19 June 1913) was an Italian racing driver. Zuccarelli graduated in engineering in Brescia and took on racing shortly afterwards. In 1910 he moved to France. He was among the ...

and

Jules Goux Jules Eugène Goux (6 April 1885 – 6 March 1965) was a French racing driver and Grand Prix motor racing champion. He was notable for being the first European driver to win the Indianapolis 500. Biography Influenced by the Gordon Bennett Cu ...

to help create a novel range of racing cars as part of the

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French automobile brand owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was established in 1810, making it the oldest car company in the world. On 20 November 1858, Émile Peugeot applie ...

team. He debuted with them in 1909 in the ''Coupe de l'Auto'' at

Rambouillet Rambouillet (, , ) is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region of France. It is located beyond the outskirts of Paris, southwest of its Kilometr ...

and in 1910, went to Italy to compete in the

Targa Florio The Targa Florio was a public road Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near the island's capital of Palermo, Sicily, Palermo. Founded in 1906 Targa Florio, 1906, it was the oldest sports car ra ...

. At

Dieppe, France Dieppe (; ; or Old Norse ) is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department, Normandy, northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newhaven in England ...

, on 26 June 1912, Boillot won the

French Grand Prix The French Grand Prix (), formerly known as the Grand Prix de l'ACF (Automobile Club de France), is an auto race held as part of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One World Championship. It is one of the oldest ...

, in his Peugeot L76, a vehicle designed by a group consisting of the young Swiss engineer, Ernest Henry in association with Zuccarelli, Goux and Boillot. This was the first motorcar in the world to have an engine with two overhead

camshafts A camshaft is a shaft that contains a row of pointed cams in order to convert rotational motion to reciprocating motion. Camshafts are used in piston engines (to operate the intake and exhaust valves), mechanically controlled ignition systems a ...

and four valves per cylinder. Boillot won the ''Coupe de l'Auto'' in 1913 and became the darling of French racing fans when he won his second straight

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...

, becoming the first driver to win the

twice.

That same year Boillot's Peugeot teammate, Goux, became the first Frenchman to win the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...

. The following year, France again sent a number of competitors to the

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

speedway where on 27 May, during qualifying, Boillot came tantalizingly close to breaking the 100 mile-an-hour (161 km/h) barrier when he set a new speed record of 99.86 mph (160.70 km/h). During the race, Boillot suffered repeated tire trouble. He ended up finishing 14th. In what would turn out to be his last race, the

1914 French Grand Prix The 1914 French Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix motor race held at Lyon on 4 July 1914. Hailed as one of the greatest races of the twentieth century,Georgano 1971, p.87 it was a contest between the French Peugeots and the Germ ...

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, Boillot's Peugeot was literally falling apart at the end. After demonstrating his tremendous skills by keeping the vehicle running and near the lead, it finally overheated on the last lap and he was forced to retire. Boillot 6175436940 b09c117a3b o

With the outbreak of

, Boillot joined the new French Air Force, but was initially given the task of being a driver for the commander-in-chief, General

Joseph Joffre Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre , (; 12 January 1852 – 3 January 1931) was a French general who served as Commander-in-Chief of French forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front from the start of World War I until the end of 19 ...

, who used Boillot's fast driving to maintain personal oversight of French armies. Frustrated at his duties away from the front lines he requested to join a fighting unit and promptly embarked on becoming an Ace flyer. On 21 April 1916 his plane was shot down in a dogfight with five German Fokkers, of which he was able to shoot one down before he himself was downed, crashing near

. Severely injured, he died in a military hospital at Vadelaincourt,

Meuse The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...

. For his time as a flyer, he was awarded the War Cross and made a knight of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

. He was deemed

and inhumated at

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (, , formerly , ) is the largest cemetery in Paris, France, at . With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Buried at Père Lachaise are many famous figures in the ...

in Paris in 1921.

Legacy

In his honor, several places in France named a street for Boillot and there is a George Boillot School in

Montlhéry Montlhéry () is a Communes of France, commune in the Essonne Departments of France, department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located from Paris. History Montlhéry lay on the strategically important road from Paris to Orléans. U ...

in the

Essonne Essonne () is a department in the southern part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. It is named after the river Essonne. In 2019, it had a population of 1,301,659, across 194 communes.département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

'' near

Paris 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 ...

. His brother

André André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries, as well in Portugal ...

was also a race driver and at war's end, won the 1919

. Georges' son, Jean, became ''director-general'' of

Peugeot Talbot Sport Peugeot Sport is the department of French carmaker Peugeot responsible for motorsport activities. History Beginnings in rallying Peugeot Sport was formed in 1981 under the name of Peugeot Talbot Sport, after Jean Todt, a World Rally Champions ...

cars and in 1981 was responsible for involving Peugeot in

rallying Rallying is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (sometimes called "rally racing" in United States), navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed ...

Motorsports career results

Indianapolis 500 results

References

External links

Grand Prix History - Hall of Fame
, Georges Boillot {{DEFAULTSORT:Boillot, Georges 1884 births 1916 deaths People from Valentigney Aviators killed by being shot down French military personnel killed in World War I French racing drivers Grand Prix drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers Sportspeople from Doubs