Alfred Ley
Alfred Ley (born April 11, 1873 in Arnstadt ; † December 7, 1945 ) was a pioneer of German automobile construction.
Life
After attending school, Alfred Ley began an apprenticeship in the engineering works in Arnstadt in Thuringia, which his father Rudolf Ley had taken over in 1886 from his former employer . At that time, the company specialized in the manufacture of sewing and shoe machines. His journeyman's piece was the wooden nailing machine with the serial number 100 developed by his father. He then studied mechanical engineering and electrical engineering. When he joined his father's company in 1893, he expanded the range to include electric motors and dynamos . A power station was built to supply the machines and the city of Arnstadt with energy , which was sold to the city in 1903. In the same year, Alfred Ley began developing an automobile. In 1905 the Loreley was presented. Ley was probably, at the same time as Adler , the first German manufacturer to introduce the motorized gear unit as a standard. Ley was also the first German manufacturer to equip a small car with a six-cylinder engine.
In 1913, Alfred Ley was appointed to the Commerce Councilor by Prince Günther Victor for his services to the Thuringian Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen . With the construction and testing of the first streamlined automobiles on a scientific basis based on a patent from Paul Jaray , Alfred Ley went down in automotive history. From 1913 to 1918, Alfred Ley was, in addition to his entrepreneurial activity, a member of the Arnstadt municipal council.
In 1933 the automobile production at Ley was stopped, but the mechanical engineering continued. In September 1945, Ley was picked up by Soviet officers for a "briefing" . The 72-year-old did not return from this supposed meeting and has since been considered missing. In 1995, after 50 years of research, Ley's daughter received the first information about her father's whereabouts in the course of rehabilitation proceedings. Then the Kommerzienrat died in December 1945 while being transported to Frankfurt .
literature
- Andrea Kirchschlager, Ulrich Lappe, Peter Unger (eds.): Chronicle of Arnstadt. Timeline / Lexicon . Kirchschlager, Arnstadt 2003, ISBN 3-934277-07-1 , SS 331–336
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Note verbal from the Russian Foreign Ministry to the German Embassy in Moscow of April 17, 1995
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Ley, Alfred |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Pioneer of German automotive engineering |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 11, 1873 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Arnstadt |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 7, 1945 |