Louis Chevrolet

Louis Chevrolet (1878-1941) was a fearless automobile racer who displayed little concern for his own safety when the outcome of a race was in doubt. Chevrolet's driving skills attracted the attention of auto executive, William Durant. The two men combined their talents to form the Chevrolet Motor Company. Chevrolet designed a stylish six-cylinder touring car, which became an immediate marketing success and proved that his design abilities matched his racing skills.

.fa_inline_results, .fa_inline_results.left {
margin-right: 20px;
margin-top: 0;
width: 220px;
clear: left;
}
.fa_inline_results.right {
margin-left: 20px;
margin-right: 0;
}
.fa_inline_results h4 {
margin: 0;
font-size: 8pt;
line-height: 12px;
padding-bottom: 4px;
border-bottom: 1px dotted #c3d2dc;
}
.fa_inline_results ul {
list-style-type: disc;
list-style-position: inside;
color: #3769DD;
margin: 0 0 15px;
padding: 0;
}
.fa_inline_results ul li {
margin: 0;
padding: 0;
}
.fa_inline_results ul li.title {
color: #333;
list-style-type: none;
font-weight: bold;
}
.fa_inline_results ul li.articles {
color: #333;
list-style-type: none;
}

Most Popular Publications
in Reference

African American Review Catholic New Times Weekly World News Science World Christian Century

Louis Joseph Chevrolet was born on December 25, 1878 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. He was the second son of Joseph Felician Chevrolet, a watch and clockmaker, and Angelina Marie (Mahon) Chevrolet. Young Louis grew up with six brothers and sisters. The family moved to Beaune, a small town in the Burgundy region of France, when Louis was about six. His father taught him basic mechanical skills and stressed the importance of precision in the manufacture of machine parts, which later contributed to his skill as an engine designer. To help with the family finances, Chevrolet got a job as a guide in a local wine cellar. Deciding that the method of decanting wine from one cask to another was too slow, Chevrolet designed a wine barrel pump which brought him local accolades and was used in the Burgundy region for decades.

Bicycle racing was a great weekend sport in Beaune and this is where Chevrolet developed his interest in speed. He experimented with gear ratios until he found the one best suited to his physical ability. While still in his teens and just out of grammar school, Chevrolet became an apprentice in a bicycle shop. The owner had a 1.25 bhp de Dion tricycle that was usually broken. Chevrolet bought repair manuals and worked on the bike in his spare time. He soon found the trouble, sent away for parts from the manufacturer, and had it in working order. Next he began building bicycles in the winter and selling them in the summer to tourists under the name Frontenac, after the seventeenth century governor of France's North American colonies. He later used the same name in America for the automobile company he began. About this time, Chevrolet saw his first automobile and was fascinated with the new invention.

His bicycle manufacturing business was not very successful, and Chevrolet became an apprentice at the Darracq, Hotchkiss, and Dion Bouton auto factories. In 1898,
he got a job with the Mors Auto Company, and was sent to an auto dealership in Montreal, Canada, in 1899, at the age of twenty-one. Chevrolet worked as a chauffeur-mechanic for six months and then moved to Brooklyn, New York. He worked for the DeDion Bouton Motorette Company and soon was given the opportunity to be a substitute racecar driver for Fiat in New York City. In 1901, after his father's death, he brought the rest of his family to America. Chevrolet became a citizen in 1915.

Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.