Ferdinand Budicki, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetFerdinand Budicki
automobile pioneer from Zagreb, Croatia
Date of Birth: 
Place of Birth: Zagreb, Zagreb County, Croatia
About Ferdinand Budicki
- Ferdinand Budicki (11 April 1871 – 25 June 1951) was a Croatian pioneer of car, bicycle and airplane culture.
- An inhabitant of Zagreb, Croatia, Budicki was reportedly the first to drive a car in his home city, and the first to open a car dealership and repair shop in Croatia.
- In April 1901, he drove from Vienna, Austria to Zagreb in an 1899 Opel, stirring up a commotion, as people and horses that drew carriages at the time were not used to motor vehicles, even though the car's top speed was, according to Budicki, a mere 30 km/h (19 mph).Ferdinand Budicki was born on 11 April 1871 in Zagreb to Marija (née Panian) and Ferdinand Budicki.
- His parents were renowned craftspeople.
- Having completed two grades of Realschule, Budicki first trained for a locksmith, then studied mechanics abroad.
- Living in Vienna, he assembled his own bicycle, which he used in 1897 to travel throughout Europe and northern Africa, reportedly transversing 17,323 kilometres (10,764 mi).
- In 1901, he purchased a used car from Opel & Beyschlag factory in Vienna for 4,000 Austro-Hungarian crowns.
- He was taught to drive by Otto Beyschlag and received extra training in the form of observing an electric tram driver at work.
- He subsequently drove the car from Vienna to Zagreb and the next year he travelled the same route by motorcycle.
- In 1905 he flew a hot air balloon, landing near Velika Gorica, today a suburb of Zagreb.
- Whether he was the first car driver in Zagreb is disputed, as an Obzor article claims Count Marko Bombelles Jr.
- from Varaždin drove to Zagreb in a Benz & Cie.
- car on 17 August 1899.On 28 August 1901, Budicki received his driving licence in Vienna.
- In 1910, Zagreb started to issue its own driving licences.
- Budicki's license was not recognised, so he took a driving examination on 27 July 1910 and received the licence with serial number 1.
- However, as none of the examination committee members knew how to drive, Budicki had to teach them before the examination.
- Budicki was also the first to receive a traffic ticket, for speeding on 6 June 1901 in Mavrova Street (today's Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Street).Budicki entered the business of new vehicles by opening a bicycle and sewing machine shop called K touristu ("At the Tourist's") at Mavrova Street 24 in 1899.
- In the early 1900s, the shop began selling cars and motorcycles as well.
- On 1 June 1906, Budicki founded the first Croatian Automobile Society, which opened with 14 members.
- From 1910 to 1928 he was the general distributor for Ford in the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia.
- In 1929, he started a taxicab and a bus line from Zagreb to Sv.
- Ivan Zelina.
- Later that year he had to exit the automobile business due to the stock market crash of 1929, retaining only a car repair shop.Budicki died on 25 June 1951 at the age of 80.On 4 July 2013, the Ferdinand Budicki Automobile Museum was opened in Zagreb, honouring Budicki's pioneering legacy in its name.
- In Zagreb, there is a Ferdinand Budicki Street in the neighbourhood of Jarun.
- Budicki is also remembered as the founder of Zagreb Fair and Croatian Sports Alliance.
Read more at Wikipedia