Duryea, Charles E and J Frank

Duryea, Charles E(dgar) and J(ames) Frank

(born Dec. 15, 1861, Canton, Ill., U.S.—died Sept. 28, 1938, Philadelphia, Pa.) (born Oct. 8, 1869, Washburn, Ill., U.S.—died Feb. 15, 1967, Saybrook, Conn.) U.S. automotive inventors. Charles initially worked as a bicycle mechanic. After seeing a gasoline engine at a state fair, he designed a gasoline-powered automobile, and in 1893 he and his brother Frank constructed the first U.S. automobile, which they drove successfully on the streets of Springfield, Mass. In Chicago in 1895, Frank drove an improved model to win the first U.S. auto race. In 1896 their company manufactured the first commercially produced U.S. automobiles; 13 cars were sold before the company failed and the brothers separated. Both started new automobile manufacturing ventures; Frank later developed the Stevens-Duryea limousine, which was produced into the 1920s.