Victor (Vittorio) Croizat (1856–1915) was an engineer and industrial entrepreneur who figured prominently in the early development of public lighting and the Italian automotive industry in Turin (Torino).

Early life

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Croizat was born in Chambéry, France, to Joeseph Croizat and Clémence Vautaret. In December 1889, he married Marie Chaley in Ceyzérieu, France. French engineer Joseph Chaley was a great uncle to both Marie and Victor. Soon after their marriage, Victor and Marie emigrated to Turin, where Victor was employed by the city to develop and implement a street/city lighting plan.[1][2]

Career

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Letterhead for Vittorio Croizat, Turin engineer

Lighting

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Croizat worked as an engineer in Turin,[3] specializing in electric and gas lighting. He obtained multiple patents (in Germany and the United States, at a minimum) for gas lighting and heat exchange apparatuses.[4][5][6][7] He published articles regarding industrial uses of acetylene,[8] Scattered evidence of his work in public lighting indicates that he worked in Constanta, Romania,[9] and on a design for a lighthouse oil lamp at Cape Guardafui in Somalia.[10]

Transport

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Advertisement for Rambler bicycles; Vittorio Croizat, dealer

Croizat was a pioneer in the automobile industry of northern Italy; after licensing motor designs from Peugeot, he founded Automobili Peugeot SA Brevetti to produce new automobiles under the brand Peugeot-Croizat. The company used modified versions of the Peugeot designs, and operated from 1905 to 1907. Croizat was also a dealer for Rambler bicycles.[11]

Croizat also was an investor in early oil refining efforts in Italy, and owned the Piano d'Orta oil refinery.[12]

Personal life

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Victor and Marie had several children; one, Léon Croizat, became a pioneer in botany and evolutionary theory.

References

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  1. ^ Llorente, J., J. Morrone, A. Bueno, R. Pérez, A. Viloria. &: D. Espinosa: Historia del desarrollo y la recepción de las ideas panbíogeográficas de Léon Croizat, Rev. Acad. Colomb. Cienc. 24(93): 549-577, 2000. ISSN 0370-3908.
  2. ^ "Journey Among Warriors: The Memoirs of a Marine" by Victor J. Croizat. White Mane Publishing Co., 1996
  3. ^ Engineering, v. 70[publisher missing][year missing][page needed]
  4. ^ Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office, October 8, 1907, p. 1603.
  5. ^ German Patent No. 114916: Verrichtung zum Zünden und Löschen von gasflammen unter Benutzung des sich ändernden Gasdrucks
  6. ^ United States Patent Office No. 680568 A. Gas-lamp Lighting or Extinguishing Apparatus.
  7. ^ The Electrical Engineer, v. 16, October 11, 1895, p. 436.
  8. ^ Peruta, FD; Cantarella, E. Bibliography of Periodicals Economic Lombard 1815-1914, v. 1.
  9. ^ "De la zi, la noapte: Constanţa, iluminată cu felinare şi ulei mineral". 23 October 2012.
  10. ^ "Un faro "torinese" in Somalia". 6 March 2014.
  11. ^ Guide to Turin, 1902. Committee of The First International Exhibition of Modern Decorative Arts
  12. ^ http://www.pianodorta.it/Piano%20d'orta%20petrolio.htm