'Charles Edgar Duryea' (
December 15,
1861 –
September 28,
1938) was a manufacturer of
motor vehicles. He was born in
Canton, Illinois.
Charles Duryea and his brother
Frank (
1869 – 1967) were bicycle makers in
Washington, D.C., and later in
Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1893, they tested their first
gasoline-powered
automobile model and in 1896 established a company, the
Duryea Motor Wagon Company, to build the Duryea model
automobile, the first auto ever commercially manufactured. The previous year, their vehicle, driven by brother Frank, had won a race in
Evanston, Illinois, against cars mostly made in
Germany.
One of their early cars was involved in the first known
auto accident. Due to low production and sales, the company stopped manufacturing around 1914, but the name Duryea is associated with automobile pioneers.
External links
★
World's Greatest Cars - Duryea Motor Wagon
★
Duryea: The Peoria Years