The Life of LOUIS S CLARKE

Louis Semple Clarke
Section 16, Lot 120

Autocar founder Louis Semple Clarke had a lot of success as a mechanical engineer. Among Clarke's automotive innovations were: the spark plug for use in gasoline engines, a perfected drive shaft system for use in automobiles; and, the first design of a useful oil circulation system. Clarke's insistence of placing the driver on the left hand side of the vehicle led to that standardization throughout most of the automotive industry worldwide, and the consequent result that we drive on the right side of the road.[citation needed] Clarke was also a talented photographer. His family were members of the elite South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club above Johnstown, PA, whose earthen dam at Lake Conemaugh burst on May 31, 1889, causing the Johnstown Flood. Clarke sold his interest in Autocar in 1929 and retired from business. He died in Palm Beach, Florida, on January 6, 1957