Sunday 10th December 1865

Born on this day, René de Knijff. A key figure in the early 20th century, René De Knyff as he was called after becoming a French citizen in 1914, was a director of Panhard & Levassor and was instrumental in establishing the French Automobile Club (ACF). He’d been a very successful race driver since 1897, too. After 1903 he withdrew himself from active racing and became a chairman of the racing department of the ACF. He was also President of the Commissione Sportiva Internazionale (CSI) and the Federationa Internazionale dello Sport Automobilistico (FISA) from 1922 until 1946. He died in his adopted France at the age of 89 in 1954.