William Gould Brokaw (geb. am 14. Juni 1865 in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, USA; gest. am 17. Februar 1941 in Summerville, Richland County, South Carolina, USA) war ein Geschäftsmann, Mitglied der New Yorker Gesellschaft, Sportsmann und Besitzer verschiedener Rennställe. Möglicherweise diente Brokaws verschwenderischer Lebensstil als Vorlage für die Romanfigur Jay Gatsby in F. Scott Fitzgeralds Roman Der große Gatsby.


Rennstall Pferde Unternehmer, Rennfahrer

Lebensdaten (CHECK) Bearbeiten

William Gould Brokaw Birthdate: June 14, 1865 (75) Birthplace: Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, United States Death: February 17, 1941 (75) Summerville, Richland County, South Carolina, United States Immediate Family:

Son of William Vail Brokaw and Elizabeth Foote Brokaw Husband of Catherine G. Brokaw Ex-husband of Mary Morris Hamilton and Coralie Brokaw/Roelker Erskine Brother of Florence Satterthwaite; Clifford Vail Brokaw and Lilla Dugmore Managed by: James Duane Pell Bishop III Last Updated: June 19, 2017


[1]


Cousin en:Irving Brokaw


Pferderennen = Bearbeiten

Motoryachten Bearbeiten

Before the advent of the racing car, Brokaw was focused on yachts and horses, and when he wasn’t at one of a series of Madison Avenue homes, held a very popular steeplechase at his 125-acre Great Neck estate, Nirvana (the former Crabbe estate). He owned a succession of yachts, of which Sybarite and Amorita were serious racing vessels, and won many New York area races. When motorized boats became popular, in 1905 he bought the year-old Challenger, at 150 Hp one of the fastest boats in the world; indeed, he set new world’s records with it that spring.

In 1903, Gould Brokaw also built a 20,000-acre sporting retreat, the Fairview Park Lodge, seven miles southeast of High Point, North Carolina, at a cost of $1 million. chromjuwelen

ACA Sportfunktionär,

1903 in Brighton Beach (New York)

1903 in Ormond (Florida) races in 1903

Renault und De Dion-Bouton Bearbeiten

Renault Type O (b)


1904 in Ormond he purchased a 30hp Renault directly from Louis Renault, and entered it and a De Dion-Bouton at Ormond Beach, winning a number of races. His used his driver Maurice G. Bernin for some, while in the owner-driven Gentlemen Operator class, Gould Brokaw won the five-mile handicap.

Benin, incidentally, left Gould Brokaw’s employ to drive for Renault in France for a time, and while there oversaw the construction of some of Brokaw’s later Renaults. He eventually returned to the US to drive for Brokaw again.


[2] [3] [4]

De Dion-Bouton Bearbeiten

Christie Bearbeiten

Nach dem Vanderbilt Cup 19054 erwarb Brokaw John Walter Christies frontgetriebenen 50-PS Rennwagen eigener Konstruktion.



Brokaw’s interest in cars went beyond racing, however. After purchasing the Christie, he backed the Front Drive Motor Car Company, which intended to build Christe-patent taxis. That company failed, and involved a lawsuit that went to the New York State Supreme Court.


Hibbard & Darrin Bearbeiten

He was much more deeply involved later on, in the Twenties, when he was a major backer of Hibbard & Darrin coachbuilders, and even reportedly helped develop their Sylentlyte body casting system. According to Coachbuilt.com, “Many years later Hibbard recollected that if Brokaw had been more reasonable, the firm might have survived, at least for a couple more years. Unfortunately, Brokaw was not a reasonable man, and during the first few weeks of 1931 the firm closed its doors and auctioned off what few assets remained.”

Luftschiffe Bearbeiten

Literatur Bearbeiten

  • Gilbert Hatry, Claude Le Maître: Dossiers Chronologiques Renault. Voitures Particulières. Tome 1: 1899–1905. Editions Lafourcade, Paris 1977, S. 112–141.
  • Beverly Rae Kimes: Pioneers, Engineers, and Scoundrels: The Dawn of the Automobile in America. Hrsg. SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) Permissions, Warrendale PA, 2005; ISBN 0-7680-1431-X.
  • William Greenleaf: Monopoly on Wheels: Henry Ford and the Selden Automobile Patent. Great Lakes Books / Wayne State University Press, 2011 (Erstauflage 1955); ISBN 0-8143-3512-8.
  • Lawrence Goldstone: Drive! Henry Ford, George Selden, and the Race to Invent the Auto Age. Ballantine Books, 2016; ISBN 978-0-5533-9418-4.



Weblinks Bearbeiten

Einzelnachweise Bearbeiten

  1. geni.com: William Gould Brokaw.
  2. Vanderbilt Cup Homepage: Renault #11 (1904)
  3. Vanderbilt Cup Homepage: Renault #10 (1905)
  4. Vanderbilt Cup Homepage: Renault #17 (1908)