May 17th 1868
Horace Elgin Dodge, automobile manufacturing pioneer was born in Niles, Michigan.
May 17th 1890
Emile Levassor married Louise Sarazin, the widow of Edouard Sarazin and the French distributor of Daimler engines. The marriage set the stage for Levassor's business venture, Panhard et Levassor, which would use Daimler engines in its cars. Emile, France's premier car racer before the turn of the century, set an early record by driving from Paris to Bordeaux and back at an average of 14.9mph in 1895. His cutting-edge Panhard had a 2.4 liter engine and produced only 4hp. After two years of development Levassor's Daimler engine was capable of pushing the lightweight, wood-framed Panhard to over 70mph.
May 17th 1994
Al Unser Sr. announced his retirement from auto racing, ending one of the greatest Indy Car careers of all time.
Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia
Horace Elgin Dodge
Al Unser Sr.
