No relation to Tom. Charles won the 1911 San Francisco road race and later worked as a race promoter. Bigelow was of English ancestry and a pioneer of long-distance endurance road driving, which, in due course, had influence on the development of the country's interstate highways. Bigelow was the first person, in 1908, to drive through Death Valley from California to Las Vegas and in 1910 attempted a drive from New York to Los Angeles to promote the idea of a coast-to-coast road across America. He achieved the feat in 29 days - despite a cyclone hitting nearby whilst in the mid-West - and Los Angeles' interstate road network owes a lot to Bigelow.

Biography last updated 18 Sep 2015