It was on this day in 1915 that the famous French industrialist and automobile pioneer Armand Peugeot passed away. He was 65.

Born in the eastern French town of Herimoncourt in 1849, Peugeot took over the running of his family's metal business alongside his cousin, Eugene, in the 1880’s and quickly branched out into cycle manufacturing.

By 1892, the company had begun manufacturing cars on a small scale using Daimler engines. The success of this venture convinced Armand to break away and found his own vehicle manufacturing company - Peugeot - in 1896, based from a new purpose-built factory in Audincourt.

Peugeot quickly became a dominant force in motor racing and by 1912 the company had established a giant new plant in Sochaux which has gone on to produce over 20 million cars, helping make Peugeot one of the most enduring marques in the world.

After Armand’s death, the Peugeot family still held managerial positions within the company until finally relinquishing control a full century later.

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