Joseph-Armand Bombardier (; April 16, 1907 – February 18, 1964) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

inventor and businessman who was the founder of Bombardier. His most famous invention was a

snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a snowmachine (chiefly Alaskan), motor sled (chiefly Canadian), motor sledge, skimobile, snow scooter, or simply a sled is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. Their engines normally ...

Biography

Born in Valcourt, Quebec, Joseph-Armand Bombardier dabbled in mechanics from an early age. He built his first snow vehicle at the age of 15. He acquired experience by reading, taking notes and repairing what he found until he opened his own garage at age 19, where he would repair cars and sell gasoline in the summertime. During wintertime, he worked on developing a vehicle able to travel on snow. At that time, the Quebec government did not clear snow from secondary roads, so residents of these areas stored their cars for the winter season. The idea to build a winter vehicle came to Bombardier after a blizzard in which his young son fell ill from

peritonitis Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and covering of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One pa ...

and died because he could not be brought to the nearest hospital. The first B7 (B for Bombardier and 7 for 7 passengers) snowmobiles were sold during the winter of 1936–37 and were well received. A new plant able to produce more than 200 vehicles a year was built in 1940. A new 12-passenger model was made available in 1941 which was referred to as the B12, but demand was halted when Canada entered

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The B12 was manufactured by L’Auto-Neige Bombardier Limitée. Bombardier also brought to market a C18 which served the public as a school bus. Over 3,000 units of the B12/C18 were manufactured. Bombardier offered his expertise to the Canadian government and started producing specialized military vehicles for the

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. Bombardier also produced specialized vehicles for logging and mining operations, which they called the Muskeg. After the war, business declined when the Quebec government began clearing snow from secondary roads in 1948. Bombardier went on to build smaller snowmobiles during the 1950s and developed a new market for recreational products for one or two people. In 1959 he launched the Ski-Doo, which was originally planned to be called Ski-Dog but a printing accident spelt it as Ski-Doo and Bombardier considered that typo a fortuitous development for a new

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...

for his company. The Ski-Doo was ranked 17th place on CBC Television's The Greatest Canadian Invention in 2007. Bombardier died in 1964 of cancer but the snowmobile idea was a success. 225 units were sold during 1959 and more than 8,210 units were sold during 1963.

Honours

In 2004, Autoroute 55 in Quebec was named ' between Stanstead and Autoroute 20 (') near

Drummondville Drummondville () is a city in the Centre-du-Québec region of Quebec, located east of Montreal on the Saint-François River. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 79,258. The mayor of Drummondville is Stéphanie Lacoste. Drummondville ...

. The Bombardier Glacier in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

is also named after him. In 2000, Joseph-Armand Bombardier was honoured by the

government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...

with his image on a

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail). Then the stamp is affixed to the f ...

. He is a member of the

Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame The Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame, was located at the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa, Ontario, honoured Canadians who have made outstanding contributions to society in science and engineering. It also promoted role m ...

.The Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame: The Hall
, Canada Science and Technology Museum.

References

External links

J. Armand Bombardier MuseumJoseph-Armand Bombardier
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

CBC's Bombardier: The Snowmobile LegacyHeritage Minute about Joseph-Armand Bombardier
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bombardier, Joseph-Armand People from Estrie Businesspeople from Quebec Canadian inventors Bombardier Inc. 1907 births 1964 deaths Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Snowmobiles Joseph-Armand

Biography

Honours

See also

References

Further reading

External links