Chevrolet, << `shehv` roh LAY, >> Louis (1878-1941), helped organize the Chevrolet Motor Company in 1911 and designed its first automobile. He was also a leading figure in automobile racing and was elected to the automobile racing Hall of Fame in 1952. Chevrolet sold his interest in the motor company in 1915. He then began building racing cars. His Monroe won the Indianapolis 500 race in 1920. His Frontenac won the race in 1921. Chevrolet and his brother Arthur organized the Chevrolet Brothers Aircraft Company in 1929, but it failed.
Louis Chevrolet was born at La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, on Dec. 25, 1878. He settled in the United States in 1900 and soon gained a reputation as one of the world’s best and most fearless racing car drivers. Chevrolet died on June 6, 1941.
