This Month in Automotive History

The history of the auto industry is complex and multifaceted; any given day is the anniversary of an important development, invention, or event that contributed to the creation of the cars we see on the road today. The month of September is notable not just for the number of events that took place during this time in automotive history, but also for the importance of these events to the development of automobiles throughout time. Take a look at these eight important September events in automotive history:

1. September 25, 1725

Nicolas Joseph Cugnot, who is widely credited as the inventor of the first automobile, was born on this day in Austria. Cugnot later went on to use the steam engine to power two tractors.

2. September 23, 1897

In Great Britain, nine-year-old Stephen Kempton died under the wheels of a taxi in the world’s first recorded automobile fatality. Two years later, 68-year-old real estate broker Henry Bliss was struck by a car on the streets of New York in the United States’ first traffic fatality.

3. September 7, 1899

America’s first automobile parade was held in Newport, Rhode Island, with over a dozen motorcars. Numerous spectators arrived to view the automobiles, which up until that point had been shrouded in mystery.

4. September 6, 1900

Electric cars have been around for a long time – and on this day in 1900, Andrew L. Riker set a speed record for the electric car that showed that it could compete with gas-fueled cars on the track. However, after 1920, automobiles fueled by petroleum products gained prominence over electric cars.

5. September 24, 1908

Prior to this day, automobiles had been a luxury item that few middle-class people could possess; however, after the first factory-built Model T Ford was completed, more people had access to these affordable and reliable cars (nicknamed the “Tin Lizzy”).

6. September 12, 1912

Carl G. Fisher and James A. Allison unveiled their plans for America’s first transcontinental highway, which would stretch over 3,000 miles from New York to San Francisco and would be completed in time for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco. The road was built as a memorial to Abraham Lincoln, and named the “Lincoln Highway”.

7. September 21, 1945

After the death of his father, Henry Ford II (grandson of Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company) stepped up as president of the company. He implemented numerous changes, including improving the company’s relations with union workers and releasing two new models – the Thunderbird and the Mustang.

8. September 2, 1959

Ford Motor Company released its new model, the Ford Falcon, in the first nationwide closed-circuit television news conference. The Falcon was a versatile car that was eventually overshadowed by the Mustang, but was highly popular before its discontinuation in 1971.