Louis Verdet
Louis Verdet was born in 1869-10-30, in Saulce-sur-Rhône, département Drôme, according to the Wikidata below. He became an engineer at the Arts et Métiers school in Aix-en-Provence (Bouches-du-Rhône).[1]
Employed at LionPeugeot, he presented a rotary airplane engine in early 1909, which was manufactured the following year by the Rossel-Peugeot workshops in Suresnes (Hauts-de-Seine). Heavily inspired by the Gnome engines, this first 7-cylinder radial rotary engine developed 55 hp and weighed 85 kg.[1]
Louis Verdet worked for several years at Peugeot on high-efficiency automobile engines designed by Boillot, the company's pilot, and Giuppone. But, like Pierre Clerget in 1909, he was unable to achieve mass production. This was primarily due to a lack of market at the time, as a rotary engine could not be installed in an automobile, but also due to a lack of sufficient resources to develop it.[1]
The Gnome Omega enjoyed phenomenal success at the first air shows. In 1910, Louis Verdet founded the Société des Moteurs d'aviation Verdet at 7 Impasse du Bureau in Paris, in partnership with Pierre Berthet. But this partnership didn't work out. So, in 1911, Louis Verdet joined forces with engineer Edouard Martin to found the Société des Moteurs Le Rhône in Montreuil.[1]
Edouard Martin, a racing champion, would become an aviator alongside Eugène Gilbert, who was involved in the affair, as well as Claude Bajard and Berthet, who were also shareholders in the Gnome engine company.[1]
Around 1910, he set out to do better than Louis Seguin and designed a 7-cylinder rotary engine. This new process was called "connecting rod gearing," and the engine was called "Le Rhône." He continued to perfect his aircraft engines and filed numerous patents until his death.[1]
Furthermore, Louis Verdet was also the inventor of the precursor to the taximeter. Louis Verdet died in Paris in 1918.[1]
This person had 0 publications and 0 patents in this database.
Publications by or about Louis Verdet
- Publication B2p1376e19, 1910, Le moteur Verdet (Simple title: The "Verdet" engine, Journal: L'Aéronaute)
- Odier, 1911, The moteur Verdet (Simple title: The Verdet engine, Journal: L'Aéro)
- Publication B2p1376e20, 1912, Le moteur Verdet (Simple title: Le moteur Verdet, Journal: Rev. Aérienne)
Sources
- Gnome & Rhône: Pioneering Aviation Engines | Safran
- Cimetière du Père Lachaise | Amis et Passionnés du Père Lachaise (APPL)
- Days and months of birth and death were taken from the Wikidata, the years of which corroborate the above-mentioned Cimetière du Père Lachaise information. His place of birth was also found via said Wikidata.
References
| Names | Louis Verdet |
|---|---|
| Countries | FR |
| Locations | Saulce-sur-Rhône, Drôme (département), Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône, Montreuil, Paris, Seine |
| Occupations | engineer |
| Tech areas | Motors |
| Accreditations | |
| Affiliations | Arts et Métiers, Aix-en-Provence, Société des Moteurs Gnome et Rhône, Société des Moteurs Le Rhône, Société des Moteurs d'aviation Verdet |
| Family name | Verdet |
| Birth date | 1869-10-30 |
| Death date | 1918-11-08 |
| Wikidata id | Q34036816 |
