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French engineer and a pioneer of the automobile industry and car racing in France.
Graduated at École Centrale Paris, he started his career in 1872 in a company that produced wood-working machines, where he met René Panhard. They were building gas engines as well. In 1886, a Belgian industrialist Edouard Sarazin got a license for building engines of Gottlieb Daimler. He chose Levassor to build them in France. When Sarazin died in 1887, Levassor married his widow, Louise, and together with Panhard they started building cars. The first appeared in 1890, with an engine built in Daimler license. Levassor also took part in auto racing, finishing fifth in Paris to Rouen race in 1894, and arriving first in (but not winning) the Paris-Bordeaux-Paris race the following year (both in his own cars). In 1896, when taking part in the 1896 Paris–Marseille–Paris race, he got seriously injured in a crash when he tried to avoid hitting a dog. He never recovered from the injury, and died in Paris the following year.
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variant spelling:
LEVASSOR, Emile
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History
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* 21.01.1843
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Marolles-en-Hurepoix
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born
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1886
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Paris
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He founds Panhard with René Panhard.
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1889
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Nommé Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur.
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1890
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Production of first car
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1890
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Paris
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Contrôle des licences françaises pour les brevets de moteur automobiles de Gottlieb Daimler.
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1891
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Conception d'une voiture : moteur à l'avant du conducteur afin d'obtenir une meilleure adhérence de la direction (avant) roues. Il a remplacé la courroie d'entraînement typique avec un arbre de transmission et d'engrenages qui pourrait être engagé sélectivement avec un embrayage afin de donner des rapports de vitesse différents.
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1895
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Il inventa, perfectionna et n'hésita pas à « essayer » en course. Il gagna une des toutes premières courses automobile sur « engin à pétrole », le Paris-Bordeaux-Paris mais il fut disqualifié, sa voiture n'étant pas une 4 places comme le requérait le règlement.
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† 14.04.1897
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died
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1945
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The company was renamed Panhard
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