Wednesday 6th December 1876

Born on this day, Fred Duesenberg, German-born American automobile pioneer designer, manufacturer and sportsman. In 1913 he founded Duesenberg Automobile & Motors Company, Inc, in St. Paul with his brothers to build engines and racing cars. Duesenberg used the Indianapolis Speedway as a laboratory, and for nearly twenty years his own entries participated in races there. By World War I their engines had made a good showing in the Indianapolis 500. Eddie Rickenbacker, World War aviation ace, drove cars powered by those motors before he flew in the war, piloting the first Duesenberg-powered automobile to prize money in 1914, finishing tenth.