Louis Chevrolet, the founder of the Chevrolet car company,
was born in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Canto of Neuchatel in Switzerland, but he honed
his mechanical skills in Beaune, France. In 1900 he emigrated to Montreal, Quebec
where he worked as a mechanic. in 1901 he moved to New York where he eventually
wound up working for the French auto manufacturer de Dion-Bouton.
In 1905 Chevrolet was hired as a race car driver by FIAT.
The arrangement with FIAT apparently didn't work out since a year later he was
working for a Philadelphia-based company developing front-wheel-drive for
automobiles, but Chevrolet's interest in racing did not wane. In 1909,
Chevrolet raced for Buick, participating at the Giant's Despair Hillclimb.
On November 3, 1911 Chevrolet co-founded the Chevrolet Motor
Car Company with William C. Durant (ousted founder of General Motors Company),
Durant's son-in-law Dr. Edwin R. Campbell, and William Little (maker of the Little
Automobile). They established the company in Detroit and by 1917 Durant had bought a controlling
interest in General Motors and Chevrolet was folded into GM.
During this time Chevrolet continued racing and in 1915 he
finished 20th in the Indianapolis 500 in the Cornelian, a car he designed with
Howard E. Blood. Though it didn't win, the Cornelian has the distinction of being the only chain-driven car to compete at the Speedway. Chevrolet would go on to compete four more times in the 500, placing 7th in 1919, but failing to earn a spot on the
Warner-Borg Trophy. The connection with Indianapolis continued through the family, though and Chevrolet's brothers Arthur and Gaston both competed in the race with Gaston winning in 1920.
Louis Chevrolet died in Detroit, Michigan on June 6, 1941 and
is buried in Holy Cross and Saint Joseph Cemetery in Indianapolis. He's
memorialized at the entrance of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame
where his bronze bust greets visitors.
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