Montague Roberts
Early 20th century race car driver
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Montague Roberts (1883–1957) was an American race car driver.
He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He earned a degree in mechanical engineering from the State University of New York via correspondence courses and became a licensed engineer. During the first world war, he led the US government's helium production efforts.[1]
He is famous for being one of the winning drivers in the 1908 New York to Paris automobile race with his team beating the second place car by 26 days.[2] Prior to the race, Robets was well known in the American racing curcuit for driving cars from the Thomas Motor Company.[3] The previous year, he had participated in a 24-hour race at Morris Park Racetrack[4][5] and returned in 1909 to tow Laurence J. Lesh in a glider exhibition after the location had been converted into the Morris Park Aerodrome.[6]
He died on September 20, 1957, in Presbyterian Hospital in Newark, New Jersey.[1]