Herbert Austin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Sir Herbert Austin, 1st Baron Austin (1866-1941) was an English automobile designer and builder.
He worked for a time with the Wolseley Motor Company in Birmingham, England to build the first Wolseley cars (this in 1895).
In
1905 Austin resigned from Wolsely and embarked on a bicycle ride around
the streets of Birmingham in search of a factory that could accommodate
his idea for a new car manufacturer, he stumbled across an old print
works in Longbridge (then a leafy suburb). The Austin car works at
Longbridge were later to become one of the greatest car manufacturers
in the world.
His
landmark designs helped battle Germany in both world wars from fighter
airoplanes to tank tracks built at his Longbridge works, he was also
famous for the Austin Seven, Austin Mini (famous in the film, Italian
Job) and the 12/4. He was knighted in 1917; in 1936 he was created
Baron Austin, a title he held until his death in 1941.
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