Today in History: First American Automobile Race


Today in History–November 28–the Library of Congress features the first American automobile race, run on this day in 1895. Inventor J. Frank Duryea, battled snow and breakdowns to win the 54-mile race from Chicago’s Jackson Park to Evanston, Illinois in just over 10 hours. Learn more about early automobiles and the sport of auto racing by visiting the Today in History section, then follow the links below to access more resources from across the Library. For a race map and photos of the top two finishers of the November 28 race, check out the Chicago Times-Herald race Wikipedia entry.

First American Automobile Race from America’s Library

Automobile racing images

Selected issues from American motorist, 1926

Auto racing historical newspaper articles

Automobile racing legislation

Indiana’s Indianapolis 500 from America’s Library

Indianapolis 500 images

Indianpolis 500 historical newspaper articles