Charles Brady King
| Charles Brady King | |
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c. 1915
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| Born |
February 2, 1868 Angel Island, California |
| Died | June 22, 1957 (aged 89) Rye, New York |
| Occupation | engineer / inventor |
| Spouse(s) | Grace Fletcher |
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Charles Brady King (February 2, 1868 – June 22, 1957) was an American engineer and entrepreneur remembered as an automotive pioneer, artist, etcher, musician, poet, architect, mystic, industrialist and inventor.
King was the first person in Detroit to design, build and drive a self-propelled automobile – 3 months before Henry Ford built his automobile. The Detroit Journal of March 7, 1896, reports that King drove his motor-powered vehicle down Woodward Avenue – being the first person in Detroit to build and drive such a vehicle. The Journal also reports King made and sold the first complete automobile in Detroit.
King was born February 2, 1868, at Camp Reynolds on Angel Island, California. His father was a Civil War Union Army general, General John Haskell King. His mother was Matilda C. Davenport, from the New England family line of Davenports that settled in Detroit.
King was first sent to Trinity College in Port Hope (Ontario) for two years, then went to Cascadilla School in Ithaca, New York, for preparation for entrance to Cornell University. Then in 1887 he entered Cornell (engineering class of 1891), but was only there for two years. He moved to Detroit around 1888 or 1889 at the age of 20, shortly after his father's death. His first full-time job was as a draftsman at Michigan Car Company in Detroit.
King started designing and building his first car from the time of the Chicago World's Fair of 1893. He test drove his first car in Detroit in front of hundreds of spectators on March 6, 1896, at speeds up to seven miles per hour. It was powered by a Sintz engine. The time was just before 11 P.M. The route that King did started from a building on St. Antoine Street, going first south toward the Detroit River. When he arrived at Jefferson Avenue he turned right. After passing by several businesses he arrived at Woodward Avenue. He turned right again onto that street. He again passed by several businesses and then stopped for a short time at Cadillac Square at the Russell House hotel. Henry Ford was present when King demonstrated his horseless carriage, riding a bicycle behind!
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