Charles Jasper Glidden

Charles Jasper Glidden ( born August 29, 1857 in Lowell, Massachusetts, † September 11, 1927 ) was an American telephone pioneer, financier and patron of the automobile in the United States. Charles Glidden walked around with his wife Lucy in 1902 as the first the world in an automobile, one more time 1908.

Glidden was the son of Nathaniel Glidden and his wife Laura was (born Clark). He came from a family who had come to America in 1664. His professional career began at the age of 15 years. At age 20 he was Branch Manager at Atlantic-Pacific Telegraph Company. He recognized early the potential of the phone and experimented together with Alexander Graham Bell Telephone connections over telegraph lines. Glidden funded the construction of telephone lines in Manchester, New Hampshire, and first recognized that the female voice better for the early telephones suitable than the male. Accordingly, he set a switchboard. The telephone exchange program he had initiated, grew into a syndicate, which covered, among others, the U.S. states of Ohio, Minnesota, Arkansas and Texas. The first long-distance telephone connection (from Lowell, Massachusetts to Boston ) was on his initiative.

On 10 July 1878 he married Lucy Emma Clegworth from Manchester, New Hampshire.

Charles Glidden believed that the automobile is not just a toy for the rich to stay, but would develop into a serious means of transportation. On the one hand, had proven and a reasonable road system creates the reliability of the fledgling horseless carriage. ( At this time, more travel by rail or by river steamer been made. ) In 1901 he sold his company to Bell and turned as a private citizen these new destinations to. In the same year he undertook with his wife successfully a ride to the Arctic Circle.

1902 was followed by a world tour, which he again undertook with his wife in a British Napier. This more than extraordinary journey took him over 46,528 miles, through 39 states and ultimately around the world twice. He sailed countries where they had never seen an automobile. Prerequisite for this endeavor was painstaking preparation. He led with even special bikes to ride on railroad tracks can. Always dressed blameless, he was very on publicity, which he used for the automotive sector. He corresponded with countless local and international newspapers. In this way, he traveled to 1908 practically all continents.

Glidden Tour

In 1904 he took part in the first endurance race of the American Automobile Association (AAA ), led by New York City to St. Louis. Because he was of the view that this event should be done regularly, he donated a silver cup and a very high for that time amount of $ 2,000, which he repeated annually from then on. The AAA Glidden Reliability organized this tour regularly 1905-1913. The aim was to traverse a certain distance within a certain period of time, skipping no checkpoint. The winner was determined by a points system.

The first Glidden Tour was still felt to be too easy;, participants voted together on the winner. This by the way was not Charles Glidden with his Napier but Percy Pierce on an imposing Pierce Great Arrow. Then the route was longer and more demanding.

The Glidden Tour was never a ride: It led to more new routes over several hundred miles virtually roadless terrain in the United States and occasionally in Canada. Many cars did not hold out this brutal treatment and there were also incidents, for example, with shy horses. But it was a matter of honor that helped out the teams against each other and Glidden is said that he had some local authorities paid Wegzoll from private pocket or farmers replaced their poultry. The victory at a Glidden Tour was a prestige thing that motivated more and more manufacturers to participate and was marketed accordingly in case of success. The regulations suffered from the condition that each vehicle had to be driven by owner. Thought to ensure that private initiative was funded, that condition perverted into its opposite: senior executives of the major manufacturers just signed up using their own cars.

1946 Glidden Tour from Veteran Motor Car Club of America ( VMCCA ) was revived and finds every year since then, but in a more touristy frame and with veterans vehicles instead. It is the oldest and most prestigious event of its kind in the United States. And still the winner of that silver trophy will be handed over to Charles Glidden in 1905 donated.

His own travels sat Glidden continued further. From 1908 he began to promote aviation. He advocated the Lighter than air technology ( ballooning ) and was of the opinion that private aircraft would prevail similar to motorbikes.

Charles Jasper Glidden died on September 11, 1927 of cancer. The breakthrough of the automobile as the primary mode of transportation has therefore experienced yet.