The Chicago Times-Herald race was the first automobile race held in the United States. [1] Sponsored by the Chicago Times-Herald , the race was held in Chicago in 1895 among six motorized vehicles: four cars and two motorcycles. It was won by Frank Duryea's Motorized Wagon. [1] The race created considerable publicity for the motocycle, which had been introduced in the United States only two years earlier.
On July 10, 1895, the Chicago Times-Herald announced a race to be held in the city, prizes totaling $5,000 (approximately $175,900 in 2022). The promotion was an attempt to foster the growth of the young auto industry in the United States and to boost newspaper sales. The first automobiles in the nation were produced only two years earlier, and they were so new at the time that the paper's editors could not easily agree upon a name for them. After considerable wrangling, the editors decided to call it a Moto Cycle race and first used the term in a July 15 article. [1]
The original course of the race was to run from Chicago north to Milwaukee, but the roads were found to be too poor for early cars to traverse easily. The route was changed to be only 54 miles (87 km) from Chicago to Evanston and back. The finish line was near what is now the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry (what had been the Palace of Fine Arts at the 1893 Columbian Exposition). The race was intended to be held on November 2, but few cars had shown up, and the race was rescheduled. Eighty-three cars were initially entered into the race, but only six arrived for the actual competition. [1] [2] Many of the entrants did not have their cars completed on time, and several were unable to make the journey. Elwood Haynes' car, which was a favorite to win the race, was damaged en route and unable to compete.[ citation needed ]
Both Haynes and the driver of a Benz car were stopped by police while driving their cars into the city. They were forced to requisition horses to pull the cars because, as the police informed them, they had no right to drive their vehicles on the city streets. The situation caused the race to be again postponed while the Chicago Times-Herald editors convinced the city leaders to pass an ordinance to confirm the right of these vehicles to travel on city streets. Once the ordinance passed, the race was held on November 28, Thanksgiving Day. The day was snowy and 38 °F (4 °C), the roads muddy, with snow drifts in places. [1]
The first car to arrive at the starting line was a German-made car by inventor Karl Benz. In total, three Benz cars ran in the race. The only other four-wheeled car to run in the race was Frank Duryea's motorized wagon. [3] The two other vehicles that took part were two-wheeled automobiles. The "motorcycles" lacked the power to climb one of the course's grades. Another entrant was electric-powered, whose battery died from the cold weather before getting far. Just after starting, one Benz struck a horse and was forced to leave the race. On the return trip from Evanston, the Duryea began to take the lead.[ citation needed ]
The Duryea car finished the race first, completing the race after 7 hours and 53 minutes of running time, 10 hours and 23 minutes total time, having traveled an average of 7 mph (11 km/h). [1] [4] The Benz entered by Oscar B. Mueller crossed the finish line an hour and a half later. From point 31 of the course to the finish Mueller's car was driven by Charles Brady King because Mueller went unconscious from exposure. [5] [6] King was originally an umpire to the race and of this motorcycle. [7] None of the other vehicles finished. [8]
The race was the first known automobile race in the United States. [2] Newspapers across the country carried stories about the race. Many predicted the demise of horse-borne transportation, citing the cars' ability to travel even in poor weather. The success of the race sped up the rate of automobile development by at least five years in the United States due to the event's publicity. [2] The commercial production of American automobiles began only a year later. [2]
The contest rules published before the race stated the following prizes were available. [9]
| Place | Prize Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| First | $2,000 and a gold medal | Open to all competitors of the world. |
| Second | $1,500 | In the event the first prize goes to a vehicle of foreign manufacture, the most successful American entry will receive this prize. |
| Third | $1,000 | |
| Fourth | $500 | |
| Total | $5,000 |
The Fort Worth Gazette stated, "The prizes will be awarded on the showing made in the road race, and in the scientific tests which have been made under the supervision of the best experts in the country." [10] The official prize results were not announced until December 5, 1895. The race judges determined that "All contestants violated the rules of the race. None of the three contestants which finished at Jackson Park kept the course." [11]
"The judges were compelled to make their awards based on the showing in the tests and in the road race. The test took precedence in the rules, but the remarkable run made by Duryea and Mueller compelled substantial recognition. It was deemed fair to make an award of the gold medal based largely on tests, and it therefore, went to Morris-Salom. The other awards were made on road performances and on special points in design." [12] Total prize money awarded was $5,000.
| Vehicle Information | Prize Awarded | Prize Rationale and Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Duryea Motocycle Company Springfield, MA Duryea; Race #5 | $2,000 | "Carriage made best performance and average speed. Best pull and compact design." [11] Failed to keep to the course, and was repaired by a blacksmith which violated the race rules. [12] |
| H. Mueller & Co. Decatur, IL Benz; Race #19 | $1,500 | "Wagon made best performance in road. Most economy in operation." [11] Failed to keep to the course, and pushed by outsiders. [12] |
| R. H. Macy & Co. New York, NY Benz; Race #22 | $500 | "Best showing made in road race." [11] Failed to keep to the course, and did not finish within the allowed time. [12] |
| Sturges Electro Motocycle Chicago, IL Sturges; Race #25 | $500 | "For showing made in road race." [11] Abandoned after 12 miles (19 km). [13] The Sturges was built by William Morrison in Des Moines, Iowa between 1888 and 1890. This vehicle was purchased by Harold Sturges, and he demonstrated it at the World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago during 1893. [14] |
| Morris & Salom Electrobat Philadelphia, PA Morris & Salom; Race #18 | Gold medal (Valued at $250) | "Best show in official tests." [11] Did not attempt to complete the course. Drove 15 miles (24 km) of race and then returned to testing headquarters. [15] Award of the gold medal was based on, "Safety; easy of control; absence of noise, vibration, heat or odor; cleanliness, and general excellence of design and workmanship." [16] |
| G. W. Lewis Motocycle Chicago, IL | $200 | Special prize money given ". . . for friction driving device and brake and a reduction gear for increasing speed." [12] |
| Hayes & Apperson Gasoline Wagon Kokomo, IN | $150 | Special prize money given ". . . for plan of preventing vibration by balance of driving engines." [12] |
| George Hertel Gasoline Wagon Chicago, IL | $100 | Special prize money given ". . . for a device for starting the motor from the operator's seat in the vehicle." [12] |
| De La Vergne Refrigerating Machine Co. New York, NY Benz; Race #7 | $50 | Special prize money given ". . . for counterbalance of engine." [12] Some papers state they quit the race at 16th Street and others at 64th Street. [13] [17] |
The Smithsonian Institution states the following regarding the winning Duryea car. "This car was unfortunately destroyed through a workman's misunderstanding many years ago." [18] The second-place car of Hieronymus Mueller is on display in the Mueller Museum in Decatur, Illinois. [19]
In addition to the enormous amount of publicity the race generated, several other automotive developments were related to this race.
CarlFriedrich Benz was a German engine designer and automotive engineer. His Benz Patent Motorcar from 1885 is considered the first practical modern automobile and first car put into series production. He received a patent for the motorcar in 1886, the same year he first publicly drove the Benz Patent-Motorwagen.
An antique car is an automobile that is an antique. Narrower definitions vary based on how old a car must be to qualify. The Antique Automobile Club of America defines an antique car as over 25 years of age. However, the legal definitions for the purpose of antique vehicle registration vary widely. The antique car era includes the Veteran era, the Brass era, and the Vintage era, which range from the beginning of the automobile up to the 1930s. Later cars are often described as classic cars. In original or originally restored condition antiques are very valuable and are usually either protected and stored or exhibited in car shows but are very rarely driven.
Horseless carriage is an early name for the motor car or automobile. Prior to the invention of the motor car, carriages were usually pulled by animals, typically horses. The term can be compared to other transitional terms, such as wireless phone. These are cases in which a new technology is compared to an older one by describing what the new one does not have.
The Brass Era is an American term for the early period of automotive manufacturing, named for the prominent brass fittings used during this time for such features as lights and radiators. It is generally considered to encompass 1896 through 1915, a time when cars were often referred to as horseless carriages.
Quadricycle refers to vehicles with four wheels.
The Duryea Motor Wagon Company, established in 1895 in Springfield, Massachusetts, was the first American firm to build gasoline automobiles.
The Duryea Motor Wagon was among the first standardized automobiles and among the first powered by gasoline. Fifteen examples were built by the Duryea Motor Wagon Company of Chicopee, Massachusetts, between 1893 and 1896. Their enterprise followed the first commercially available automobile which was patented by Karl Benz on January 29, 1886, and put into production in 1888.
The Benz Velo was one of the first cars, introduced by Carl Benz in 1894 as the followup to the Patent Motorwagen. 67 Benz Velos were built in 1894 and 134 in 1895. The early Velo had a 1L 1.5-metric-horsepower engine, and later a 3-metric-horsepower engine. giving a top speed of 19 km/h (12 mph). The Velo was officially introduced by Karl Benz as the Velocipede, and became the world's first standardized serial production car. The Velocipede remained in production between 1894 and 1902, with a final count of over 1,200 produced.
Charles Edgar Duryea was an American engineer. He was the engineer of the first working American gasoline-powered car and co-founder of Duryea Motor Wagon Company. He was born near Canton, Illinois, a son of George Washington Duryea and Louisa Melvina Turner, and died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but spent most of his life working in Springfield, Massachusetts. It was in Springfield that Charles and his brother, Frank, produced and road-tested America’s first gasoline-powered car.
Haynes-Apperson Company was a manufacturer of Brass Era automobiles in Kokomo, Indiana, from 1896 to 1905. It was the first automobile manufacturer in Indiana, and among the first in the United States. Elwood Haynes, one of the founders, worked on early types of stainless steel and was the inventor of stellite, and many of the early advances in automobile technology were first invented by the company.
Development of the automobile started in 1672 with the invention of the first steam-powered vehicle, which led to the creation of the first steam-powered automobile capable of human transportation, built by Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot in 1769. Inventors began to branch out at the start of the 19th century, creating the de Rivaz engine, one of the first internal combustion engines, and an early electric motor. Samuel Brown later tested the first industrially applied internal combustion engine in 1826.
The Benz Patent-Motorwagen, built in 1885 by the German Karl Benz, is widely regarded as the first practical modern automobile and was the first car put into production. It was patented and unveiled in 1886. The original cost of the vehicle in 1886 was 600 imperial German marks, approximately 150 US dollars.
Single Center Spring Buggy Company was an American carriage and automobile manufacturer based in Evansville, Indiana. The Single Center factory manufactured the Zentmobile, Zent, Windsor, Worth, Single Center, Evansville, Simplicity and Traveler automobiles from 1903 to 1910.
James Frank Duryea was an American engineer and inventor who, with his brother Charles (1861–1938), invented the first gasoline-powered automobile in America.
Elwood Haynes was an American inventor, metallurgist, automotive pioneer, entrepreneur and industrialist. He invented the metal alloy stellite and independently co-discovered martensitic stainless steel along with Englishman Harry Brearley in 1912 and designed one of the earliest automobiles made in the United States. He is recognized for having created the earliest American design that was feasible for mass production and, with the Apperson brothers, he formed the first company in the United States to produce automobiles profitably. He made many advances in the automotive industry.
Motocycle was a word used in the United States in the latter part of the 19th century for a horseless carriage, the type of vehicle now known as a car or automobile. The word caught on initially as it was short and easier to understand than other possibilities, such as "automobile carriage", "motor carriage", "motor vehicle", or "auto carriage". It is now archaic and rarely used. The term "motor vehicle" is currently used in legal, transportation planning and academic terminology.
Automotive Industries (AI) is one of the world's oldest continually published trade publications and the oldest specialising in the automaking business. It was founded in November 1895 as The Horseless Age, the second magazine created to cover the world's transition from horse-drawn conveyances to those powered by the new internal combustion engine. The magazine changed its name to The Automobile in July 1909, an era when gasoline, steam and electricity all vied for pre-eminence in motive power.
The Stacy Building is a historic building at 41-43 Taylor Street in Springfield, Massachusetts, in the district of Metro Center known as the Club Quarter. On September 20, 1893, Springfielders Charles and Frank Duryea road-tested the first-ever American-built, gasoline-powered car in Springfield, which they had built at the Stacy Building. The first Duryea Motor Wagons were all built by hand at the Stacy Building on Taylor Street in Springfield. Despite the September 20 road-test on Howard Bemis's Springfield farm, the Springfield Republican newspaper did get the story until the Duryea brothers' 2nd public road-test on November 10, 1893.
The Buckeye gasoline buggy, also known as the Lambert gasoline buggy, was an 1891 gasoline automobile, the first made in the United States. It was also the first automobile made available for sale in the United States. It was initially a three-wheel horseless carriage, propelled by an internal combustion gasoline engine; it was later developed into a four-wheel automobile with a gearless transmission, and mass-produced during the first part of the twentieth century. The platform was later expanded into a line of trucks and fire engines.
Auto racing began in the mid-19th century. It became an organized sport in the early 20th century and has grown in popularity ever since.
The original Mueller-Benz car can be found in the Mueller Museum.
