Montague Roberts

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]

References

  1. ^ a b "Montague Roberts Is Dead at 74; Won N.Y.-Paris Auto Race in '08". The New York Times. 1957-09-21. p. 19. Retrieved 2025-12-01.
  2. ^ "Montague Roberts". Driver Database. The Race Media. Retrieved 2025-12-01.
  3. ^ "New York–Paris Racers Are Off". Automobile Topics Illustrated. 15 (19): 1406. February 15, 1908 – via HathiTrust.
  4. ^ "Montague Roberts posing in Thomas racecar, 24 hour race, 1907 Morris Park races | DPL DAMS". digitalcollections.detroitpubliclibrary.org. Retrieved 2025-12-01.
  5. ^ "Big Motor Race May be Repeated". The New York Times. September 9, 1907. p. 5. Retrieved 2025-12-01.
  6. ^ "Man-Bird Falls and Breaks Ankle". The New York Times. November 4, 1908. p. 9. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
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