Andrew L. Riker

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Andrew L. Riker (1868-1930)
Riker Electric Victoria from 1900

Andrew Lawrence Riker (* 1868 in New York ; † 1930 ) was an American automobile pioneer, racing driver, inventor , designer, founder of a leading American manufacturer of electric cars and in 1905 one of the 30 co-founders and three years first president of the American Society of Automotive Engineers (Society of Automotive Engineers). Its first vice president was Henry Ford .

Andrew L. Riker built his first electric car in 1894, using two Remington bicycles and two electric motors as a constructional basis.

In 1896 he founded the Riker Electric Motor Company in Brooklyn , New York to manufacture electric cars. In 1899, Riker moved its headquarters to Elizabethport , New Jersey and renamed the company the Riker Electric Vehicle Company . The automobile company successfully offered electric cars in a variety of designs under the brand name Riker : Tricycles (three-wheelers), Runabouts , Phaetons , Surreys , Victorias , Demi-Coachs and Broughams . It also built the station-coach minibus as well as mail and delivery vehicles . In 1900 he renamed the company the Riker Motor Vehicle Company . His 5-ton delivery van from 1900 sold very well, especially in New York.

On April 14, 1900, Andrew L. Riker took one of his electric cars in the first 50-mile road race to be held in the United States. The race took place on Merrick Road on Long Island from Springfield to Babylon there turning point at Sherman House and back to Springfield, corner of Merrick Road / Springfield Avenue. Of the 15 participants, 9 made it to the finish line. Except for Riker's electric car, they were all steam or gasoline vehicles. Riker won the race with a time of 2 hours, 3 minutes and 30 seconds. The second winner ST Davis Jr. It took 2 hours 18 minutes and 27 seconds, the third winner, Alexander Fischer, took 2 hours, 30 minutes and 1 second.

In 1902 the company became part of the Electric Vehicle Company . He received $ 1.7 million in shares.

Riker turned more and more to constructive challenges in the field of combustion engines . He also has patents in gas engines, dynamos , motors, electrical systems, transformers, and automotive accessories.

1902–1921 he became Vice President of the Locomobile Company, where he was responsible for the development and production of vehicles with internal combustion engines. In 1904 he developed a 90 hp racing car for Locomobile. His Locomobile's Old 16 racing car was the first American car to win an international race, the 1908 Vanderbildt Cup. This victory greatly strengthened the reputation of American automotive engineering at the time. Many Locomobile transporters were used during the First World War .

In 1915 he was appointed to the US Naval Consulting Board, where he led the board's committee on internal combustion motors.

literature

  • Introduced by Riker in the article: Naval Consulting Board Personell in The Engineering Magazine, Vol. 2, November 1915
  • Neal Donovan: Andrew L. Riker and The Electric Car - A Biography of the Young Riker , McPherson College Press, 2003.

Web links

Commons : Andrew L. Riker  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Archive link ( Memento from July 4, 2017 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ^ A b c The Locomobile Society: The History of The Best Built Car in America
  3. ↑ a b c d Kathy Cunningham: AL Riker
  4. ↑ Article: First Automobile Fifty-Mile Race Ever Run in America - Won Easily by LA Riker in the EVENTS OF THE DAY IN THE WORLD OF SPORT section of The New York Times on April 15, 1900; Scan here
  5. ↑ Presentation of Riker in the article: Naval Consulting Board Personell in The Engineering Magazine, Vol. 2, November 1915 More by and about AL Riker
  6. ↑ More by and about AL Riker
personal data
SURNAME Riker, Andrew L.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Riker, Andrew Lawrence (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American engineer and automotive pioneer
DATE OF BIRTH 1868
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH 1930