1. Marc Birkigt was a Swiss engineer, automotive and aviation pioneer, and co-founder of Hispano-Suiza in 1904.
15 Facts About Marc Birkigt
1. 2.
Marc Birkigt lived in Barcelona, Spain when he was hired by Emilio de la Cuadra in 1898 to work as an automobile engineer in Cuadra's firm La Cuadra.
3.
Marc Birkigt was nominated for the Car Engineer of the Century prize for the luxurious Hispano-Suiza H6 car in the 1920s.
4.
Marc Birkigt entered the Geneva Mechanical School at the age of 17 from where he graduated as an engineer at the age of 20 and then worked in a company manufacturing machines and tools for watchmaking.
5.
Marc Birkigt then designed and manufactured two models of gasoline powered carts: a 4.5 hp single-cylinder and the 7.5-horsepower twin-cylinder La Cuadra Centauro, which in 1901 traveled 1,000 km without incident.
6.
Marc Birkigt filed his first mechanical patents but the company went bankrupt.
7.
Marc Birkigt awarded Birkigt the title of Knight of Isabella the Catholic in 1908.
8.
In January 1911, Marc Birkigt moved to Paris with a new factory in Levallois and then in Bois-Colombes in 1914 with agencies all over the world.
9.
Marc Birkigt then developed a light aircraft engine in Barcelona for the Spanish government.
10.
Marc Birkigt devoted himself to luxury automobiles such as the Hispano-Suiza H6, to take advantage of the new fortunes made during the war.
11.
Marc Birkigt joined forces with Michelin in the 1930s to create a railcar: the famous Micheline.
12.
Marc Birkigt stopped manufacturing automobiles and devoted himself to aircraft engines and automatic weapons for French national defense.
13.
Marc Birkigt married Eugenie Brachet in Geneva on November 23,1901.
14.
Marc Birkigt died on March 15,1953, at the age of 75, after having filed more than 150 patents.
15.
Marc Birkigt is buried together with his wife Eugenie in Versoix Geneva, Switzerland.