Jewish Invention Myths: The Automatic Gearbox/Transmission

Another ‘jewish invention’ that sometimes does the rounds – particularly on Hungarian language sites – is the claim that the jew Laszlo Biro – who was born in Hungary – ‘invented the automatic gearbox/transmission’. (1) Now we’ve already seen that the common belief that Biro ‘invented the ballpoint pen’ is false, (2) but what about his alleged invention of the automatic gearbox/transmission?

Well let’s begin with the specific of the claim with ‘MNews’ writing that:

‘László Bíró – Ballpoint Pen and Automatic Transmission

László Bíró made more than 20 inventions in his lifetime. His most famous are the ballpoint pen and the automatic transmission.’ (3)

Now despite being often repeated no one seems to know what precisely Biro is alleged to have invented other than it was some kind of automatic gearbox/transmission and he is claimed to have done this in the 1930s and that his invention was subsequently bought by General Motors which I have been unable to confirm. (4)

Let’s assume that this is correct for the sake of argument since it probably is.

The problem with this narrative is that the first automatic gearbox/transmission was actually created in 1904 by the Sturtevant brothers in Boston:

‘In the early twentieth century, the Sturtevant brothers of Boston, Massachusetts created the “horseless carriage” gearbox. The gearbox would switch to a higher gear at high engine speeds and then to a lower gear at lower engine speeds.’ (5)

Further this came on the back of a similar – although ultimately unsuccessful – invention by two Frenchmen in 1894:

‘In France, Louis-Rene Panhard and Emile Levassor developed what they thought was a form of automatic transmission, but when they attempted to run a demonstration in 1894 the unit broke. They ended up talking through the theory of how it might work via a chalkboard demonstration.’ (6)

The first modern automatic gearbox/transmission was designed by Canadian engineer Alfred Horner Munro and successfully patented in 1923 as patent number CA 235757 (7) and - despite being commercially unsuccessful - was followed by other designs for automatic gearboxes/transmissions being patented in the UK in 1924 and the USA in 1927. (8)

These designs however used things like steam, and it wasn’t until 1932 that an automatic gearbox/transmission using hydraulic fluid was invented by two Brazilians named Jose Braz Araripe and Fernando Lehly Lemos. (9)

Therefore, we can immediately see that Biro cannot have ‘invented the automatic gearbox/transmission’ at it had first been invented in 1904, been first patented in 1923 and the hydraulic fluid was first added in 1932.

So no jews did not invent the automatic gearbox/transmission!

References

(1) For example: https://dailynewshungary.com/great-hungarian-inventions-the-automatic-transmission-shift-and-the-ball-pen/

(2) See my article: https://karlradl14.substack.com/p/jewish-invention-myths-the-biroballpoint

(3) https://mnews.world/en/news/the-great-jews-and-their-inventions

(4) For example, see: https://etelburg.com/blogs/blog/who-was-laszlo-biro-and-what-do-we-owe-him-beyond-the-ballpoint-pen?srsltid=AfmBOorof-YfNOkHXpdIGxewCD1HHWiOjr2D4nChKJ5Rfm2RZwN7PQGk and https://budappest.com/laszlo-biro-the-genius-behind-the-ballpoint-pen/

(5) https://stevesimports.com/blog/the-pros-and-cons-of-automatic-transmissions/ also https://www.nwtgearboxes.co.uk/2013/04/09/who-invented-the-automatic-gearbox/

(6) https://www.nwtgearboxes.co.uk/2013/04/09/who-invented-the-automatic-gearbox/

(7) https://brevets-patents.ic.gc.ca/opic-cipo/cpd/eng/patent/235757/summary.html

(8) https://www.nwtgearboxes.co.uk/2013/04/09/who-invented-the-automatic-gearbox/

(9) https://www.nwtgearboxes.co.uk/2013/04/09/who-invented-the-automatic-gearbox/