Joseph-Armand Bombardier: Difference between revisions
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| accessdate=2009-04-03}}</ref> Before [[World War II]] and on through much of the 1940s the [[Politics of Quebec|Quebec government]] did not plough the rural roads around Valcourt and elsewhere in the province. The inhabitants had to put away their cars and light trucks and resort to horse-drawn sleighs when heavy trucks were not available. The heavy [[snow]] made things difficult for [[general practitioner|family doctors]] or just about anybody who had urgent business to do in these areas. |
| accessdate=2009-04-03}}</ref> Before [[World War II]] and on through much of the 1940s the [[Politics of Quebec|Quebec government]] did not plough the rural roads around Valcourt and elsewhere in the province. The inhabitants had to put away their cars and light trucks and resort to horse-drawn sleighs when heavy trucks were not available. The heavy [[snow]] made things difficult for [[general practitioner|family doctors]] or just about anybody who had urgent business to do in these areas. Peter is AWESOME |
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In 1937, after years of research and development, he started producing the B-7, an enclosed [[half-track]] machine with his [[patent]]ed [[caterpillar track]] and [[sprocket]] assembly in the back and skis in the front. Previous track systems were not suitable for the moist-snow conditions of Southern Quebec. |
In 1937, after years of research and development, he started producing the B-7, an enclosed [[half-track]] machine with his [[patent]]ed [[caterpillar track]] and [[sprocket]] assembly in the back and skis in the front. Previous track systems were not suitable for the moist-snow conditions of Southern Quebec. |
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Revision as of 19:10, 6 March 2012
Joseph-Armand Bombardier | |
|---|---|
 Joseph in his B-12 snowbus | |
| Born | April 16, 1907 |
| Died | February 18, 1964 (aged 56) |
| Known for | Founder of Bombardier |
Joseph-Armand Bombardier (French pronunciation: [ʒozɛf aʁmɑ̃ bɔ̃baʁdje]) (April 16, 1907 – February 18, 1964) was a Canadian inventor and businessman, and was the founder of Bombardier. His most famous invention was the snowmobile.
Biography
Early life and education
Bombardier was born to a large family of prosperous farmers and shopkeepers in the small town of Valcourt, not too far from Sherbrooke, southeast of Montreal in the province of Quebec.[1][2] Bombardier's brothers were later to help him out in several aspects of running what would eventually become a large mechanical engineering concern, leaving him free to concentrate on mechanical innovations and high-level corporate orientations. Later still his own sons and daughters were to be instrumental in making his company grow to international proportions.
Bombardier was largely self-taught, picking up mechanical engineering by fixing things, reading, and taking notes. He had a mechanical genius and a driving ambition to make the winter months as easy to navigate as the other ones. The first snowmobile of his teenage years was a small surface-skimming contraption with a propeller.
Before the war
He started off small by opening a garage in Valcourt in 1926, fixing cars and selling gasoline in the three snow-free seasons of the year, and tinkering with his project of building a snowmobile during the snowbound winter.[3] Before World War II and on through much of the 1940s the Quebec government did not plough the rural roads around Valcourt and elsewhere in the province. The inhabitants had to put away their cars and light trucks and resort to horse-drawn sleighs when heavy trucks were not available. The heavy snow made things difficult for family doctors or just about anybody who had urgent business to do in these areas. Peter is AWESOME
In 1937, after years of research and development, he started producing the B-7, an enclosed half-track machine with his patented caterpillar track and sprocket assembly in the back and skis in the front. Previous track systems were not suitable for the moist-snow conditions of Southern Quebec.
World War II
At the start of World War 2, the Canadian government issued war-time rationings, saying that citizens had to prove the purchase of a snowmobile was essential to their livelihood. This caused Bombardier's sales to drop.
In 1942 he incorporated his company and produced the B-12 machine, which could hold 12 passengers snugly and featured many improvements.[4] The production of the B-12 went on for several decades and examples of it were still found running at the turn of the millennium in remote snowbound areas all over North America.[citation needed]
After the war and later years
The decision of the Quebec government to plough country roads in the winter of 1949 cost Bombardier much of its local market for the B-12 and its variants. This led Joseph-Armand Bombardier to diversify into other off-terrain tracked vehicles, such as a heavy-duty Muskeg tractor meant for mining exploration and the forestry industries.
Dissatisfaction with suppliers of the rubber track for the big Muskeg tractor led him to make his own, in a subsidiary operated by his son Germain. This in turn made it possible for him to produce a relatively small continuous rubber track for the light one- or two-person snowmobile he had dreamt of as a teenager.[5] When small, reliable four-stroke engines appeared in the 1950s he had all the ingredients he needed in hand. He produced the first prototype of the snowmobile in 1958 and started production in 1959.[6] Sales were slow in the first years since the mass consumer market was very different from his usual industrial and commercial customer base. When he died of cancer in 1964, snowmobiles had gone from sales of 200 a year to 8200, spurring several factory expansions.
Honours
In 2000, Joseph-Armand Bombardier was honoured by the government of Canada with his image on a postage stamp.[7] Around 2004, Autoroute 55 in Quebec was named autoroute Joseph-Armand-Bombardier between Stanstead and Autoroute 20 (autoroute Jean-Lesage) near Drummondville.[8] He is a member of the Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame.[9]
Further reading
- Roger Lacasse (1988). Joseph-Armand Bombardier: An Inventor's Dream Come True. Libre expression. ISBN 2891113411.
See also
References
- ^ "Joseph-Armand Bombardier, le conquérant de l'hiver". Mouvement estrien pouwyer le français. Retrieved 2009-04-03.
- ^ "De 1907 à 1925 : Enfance et adolescence". museebombardier.com. Retrieved 2009-04-03.
- ^ "De 1926 à 1938 : Premiers succès". museebombardier.com. Retrieved 2009-04-03.
- ^ "De 1939 à 1945 : Les années de guerre". museebombardier.com. Retrieved 2009-04-03.
- ^ "De 1959 à 1964 : La motoneige Ski-Doo". museebombardier.com. Retrieved 2009-04-03.
- ^ Lundberg, Murray. "Joseph-Armand Bombardier: The Father of Snowmobiling". inventors.about.com. Retrieved 2009-04-03.
In late 1958, the revolutionary Bombardier sports machine, the Ski-Doo, was introduced. Although the concept was similar to the company's larger machines, the size (and price) of the new "snowmobile" made it an instant hit
- ^ "Joseph-Armand Bombardier: Getting Around in the Winter". Library and Archives Canada.
- ^ "HOMMAGE À JOSEPH-ARMAND BOMBARDIER" (PDF). gouv.qc.ca. Retrieved 2009-04-03.
- ^ The Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame: The Hall, Canada Science and Technology Museum.