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Alec Issigonis

AKA Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis

Born: 18-Nov-1906
Birthplace: Izmir, Turkey
Died: 2-Oct-1988
Location of death: Birmingham, England
Cause of death: Illness
Remains: Cremated, Lodge Hill Cemetery, Birmingham, England

Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Engineer

Nationality: England
Executive summary: Designer of the Mini Cooper

Automotive engineer Alec Issigonis is best known for designing the iconic Mini Cooper, introduced in 1959 and the best-selling car in Europe for much of the decade that followed. Motivated by the success of Volkswagen's Beetle and a 1956 fuel shortage caused by the Suez energy crisis, Issigonis made the fuel-efficient Mini barely ten feet in length, boxy and petite but still somehow sleek and sexy, with its engine aligned sideways to save space. Issigonis was also the lead designer for other well-known cars, including the Austin Seven, the BMC ADO16 and ADO17, the Austin Maxi, and the Morris Minor. Issigonis never married, and was said to have valued his independence greatly. He died in 1988, and the last Mini was manufactured in 2000.

Father: Constantine Issigonis (marine engineer, b. 1872, d. 1922)
Mother: Hulda Prokopp Issigonis

    University: University of Surrey (attended 1925-28)
    University: University of London (1929)

    British Motor Corporation Chief Engineer (1955-88)
    Alvis Car and Engineering Company Engineer (1952-55)
    Morris Motor Company Chief Engineer (1944-52)
    Morris Motor Company Suspension Designer (1936-44)
    Austin Motor Company Designer (1933-36)
    Humber MotorCar Company Draughtsman-Driver (1928-33)
    Knight of the British Empire 1969
    Royal Society 1967
    Bavarian Ancestry Maternal
    German Ancestry Maternal
    Greek Ancestry Paternal
    English Ancestry
    Risk Factors: Parkinson's


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