Herbert Duncan

Herbert Duncan (1897)

Herbert Osbaldeston Duncan (born November 22, 1862 in London , † November 23, 1945 in Le Vésinet ) was a British cyclist , cycling pioneer and journalist .

biography

Herbert Duncan came from a respected family of the British landed gentry. His grandfather, George Osbaldeston, was one of the first sports stars in Great Britain to achieve success as a cricketer and obstacle rider. In the late 1870s, Duncan befriended French cyclists Paul Médinger and Frédéric de Civry , who had come to Great Britain to race. In September 1880, Duncan decided to become a professional cyclist himself, which met resistance in his social circles. He was therefore staying in France more and more often, also because many professional races were held there, all of which were still on the high-bike . In 1883 he won the Grand Prix d'Angers , a then renowned sprint competition . For further races he traveled to races in other European countries together with Medinger, De Civry and Charles Terront , who were considered the best racing drivers in their time. In 1886, Duncan won the Leicester Championship over 50 miles in a record time of two hours and 49 minutes and the sprint race at Agen for the third time in a row . In 1886 he ended his active career after a total of 91 victories.

In the same year, the Rudge Cycle Company sent Herbert Duncan with a safety on a six-day trip from Paris to Montpellier ; On the way, he visited penny farthing clubs to inform them of the novelty. He quickly recognized the business opportunities offered by bicycles and brought not only the first Safety to France, but also the first pneumatic tires . As the sole importer of the “Humber” bicycle brand and later director of the Rudge Cycle Company , he opened several bicycle shops in Paris and also worked as a journalist for several cycling magazines in France and in his home country. On the occasion of the first events of Bordeaux-Paris and Paris-Brest-Paris he recognized the advertising effect of these races, equipped drivers with Humber bikes and became the manager of his friend Terront, who won Paris-Brest-Paris , and of George Pilkington Mills , who in turn won at Bordeaux-Paris . Duncan Terront also organized long-distance trips from Saint Petersburg to Paris. The ride ended at the Buffalo Velodrome , which Duncan had initiated. He then published the book En suivant Terront and, in 1896, the book Vingt ans de cyclisme pratique on the history of the automotive industry.

Herbert Duncan had a passion for all companions who moved on wheels. So in 1882 he turned to motorcycles and acquired the production license for the machines of the German company Hildebrand & Wolfmüller for France and Belgium, known as “la Petrolette”, but ended up with a business failure. In 1896 he took part in the Emancipation Run from London to Brighton with a Léon Bolléé motorcycle tandem .

In 1899 he founded the De Dion-Bouton British and Colonial Company, Ltd with his cycling and motorsport comrades Selvyn Edge and Charles Jarrott as the sole importer of the then largest automobile manufacturer, De Dion-Bouton . In 1926 he brought out his two-volume work The World on Wheels .

During the Second World War , Duncan, who was still a British citizen, lived in hiding in his house in Le Vésinet , France ; he and his partner had to share a ration menu. He died at the age of 82 and is buried in Le Vésinet.

Fonts

• with Pierre Lafitte: En suivant Terront de St-Petersbourg à Paris , 1894
• Entrâinement à l'usage des vélocipédistes, coureurs et touristes et des amateurs des sports athlétiques . Paris 1890
• Vingt ans de cyclisme pratique. Étude complète du cyclisme de 1876 à ce jour . Paris 1898
• The World on Wheels . A history of the automobile industry. Paris 1926

References and comments

1. ↑ Pryor Dodge: The fascination of bicycles . History-technology-development. Bielefeld 2007, ISBN 9783768852531 , p. 106
2. ↑ croissy.com
3. ↑ Grace's Guide: London-Brighton Run 1896.
4. ↑ Grace's Guide: Selwyn Edge.
5. ↑ Duncan was married but lived separately from his wife.
6. ↑ www.landrucimetieres.fr

Web links

• Herbert Duncan in the Radsportseiten.net database
• Herbert Duncan on lepetitbraquet.free.fr ( Memento from February 7, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (French)