Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
Henri Pigozzi, who served as the general commercial representative for the Italian automobile producer Fiat S.p.A. in France, founded the company Société Industrielle de Mécanique et Carrosserie Automobile (Simca)-Fiat at the one-time Donnet manufacturing factory in the French commune of Suresnes (a western suburb of Paris). Pigozzi launched Simca-Fiat as a distributor for Fiat automobiles... Continue Reading →
Citroën, a major French automobile manufacturer, officially celebrated its 90th anniversary. The company, which was founded by French industrialist André-Gustave Citroën in 1919, has contributed a number of key innovative technologies to the automotive world over the decades. One example was the Traction Avant automobile, which Citroën introduced in 1934. This vehicle was the first... Continue Reading →
The first section of France’s first high-speed rail line officially began operations. The LGV Sud-Est was being built as a transit link between Paris and Lyon, and the inaugural festivities for the new line included a special train running on the completed segment between Lyon and the commune of Montchanin. As the train sped north... Continue Reading →
La Vieille lighthouse on the northwest coast of France was first lit. The stone tower is specifically located on a rock known as Gorlebella (meaning “farthest rock” in the Breton language) at the commune of Plogoff. (That commune is the department of Finistère, an administrative division of France’s Brittany region; Finistère is the Breton phrase... Continue Reading →
Professional road bicycle racer Roger Pingeon was born in the commune of Hauteville-Lompnes in eastern France. As a teenager, Pingeon initially took up cross-country skiing as his favorite means of mobility and recreational activity. He eventually refocused his time and attention on bicycling instead. Pingeon developed a strong interest in a career in bicycle racing... Continue Reading →
Automobile manufacturer Ettore Arco Isidoro Bugatti died at age of 65 in the French commune of Neuilly-sur-Seine in the Paris region. Bugatti had been born in Milan, Italy, in 1881. At a young age, Bugatti demonstrated a strong aptitude when it came to constructing motor vehicles. He was only 17, for example, when he built... Continue Reading →
Bicycle pioneer Henri Desgrange died in the commune of Beauvallon in southeastern France at the age of 75. Desgrange had been born into a middle-class family in Paris in 1865. Early on in his working life, he served as a clerk in one of the city’s law firms. Desgrange also developed a strong enthusiasm for... Continue Reading →
American inventor Robert Fulton took his newly-built paddle steamboat out on the Seine River in France for a test run. Unfortunately, the ship sank. Nevertheless, Fulton was not discouraged. He was accustomed to perfecting his designs and inventions in high-profile situations. Born in Pennsylvania in 1765, Fulton grew up in the environs of Philadelphia, and,... Continue Reading →
A Parisian mechanic named Jules Pierre Suriray was awarded French patent number 86,680 for a radial-style ball bearing he had developed for bicycles. By this time, the use of ball bearings to reduce friction between rotating parts had already long been identified with and applied to various forms of transportation. Ball bearings were used for... Continue Reading →
Théodore Vienne, a textile manufacturer and sports entrepreneur who made significant contributions to cycling, was born in the French city of Roubaix. A big proponent of sports events, Vienne coordinated a variety of bullfighting, Greco-Roman wrestling, boxing, and billiards competitions in his hometown. Vienne also happened to be an avid cyclist, so he likewise invested... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 