The Chicago Times-Herald Race of 1895
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| Audience/Grade: | High School Freshman - Continuing Education |
| Discipline(s): |
General Engineering, Engineering Science Mechanical Engineering |
| Special Topic(s): |
History of Technology |
| Learning Resource Type: | Reference - Article/Document |
| Media Type: | WWW |
| Author(s): | Henry Ford Muesum |
| Description: | Henry Ford Museum article about the first gasoline-powered automobile race. It begins: "The Chicago Times-Herald race was the first motor car race in America. Announced in June of 1895, it was not so much a race as it was a contest, an invitation to test the viability of a self-propelled vehicle. The contest required vehicles to have at least three wheels and be able to carry at least two people, one of whom was to be an umpire selected by the judges to ride with the driver during the race. Entrants also had to run their vehicles through a preliminary test. The cars were placed on a machine built by the Chicago City Railway Company that simulated road conditions. Officials measured and noted various aspects of the automobiles' performances, (fuel consumption, load capacity, tractability, etc.), and compared these findings against the horse and wagon. The race course ran from Chicago to Evanston and back, a distance of about 50 miles (80km). The November cold and the terrible road conditions took their toll early. The two electrics dropped out as their batteries died. The two Benz automobiles also broke down. The Duryea, however, made consistent, steady progress, but at a rate of under 10 m.p.h. It crossed the finish line just after 7 pm. An exhausted Frank Duryea climbed down from the vehicle. He had been driving for over nine hours. Just before 9 pm, the Mueller vehicle, with its weary passengers nearly overwhelmed by the cold, arrived at the finish line." Caption: "he 1895 Duryea, winner of America's first motor vehicle race. J. Frank Duryea at the left at the tiller, and umpire Arthur W. White of Toronto beside him." |
| Rating: |
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| Related Resources | |
| Keywords: | Duryea, automobile race |
| Usage Tip | |
| Use of Resource: | History of technology |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
| Interactivity Level: | Very Low |
| Version Info | |
| Publication Date: | October 2007 |
| Platform/Format: | WWW |
| Cost: | Free |
| Download URL: | http://www.hfmgv.org/exhibits/showroom/1896d/race.html |
| Metadata: | IEEE LOM Record |
| Collection: |
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