Motor-racing driver, born in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. He trained at Sandhurst Military Academy, and served in the Royal Flying Corps in World War 1. Wounded in 1916, he became technical secretary to the air minister. A leading post-war racing driver, he helped to design the Sunbeam car, in which he broke the land speed record at 203·9 mph, raising this to 231 mph in 1929. He was killed in his boat Miss England on L Windermere, on a trial run following one in which he had set a new world water speed record of 98·76 mph. He was knighted in 1929.
Henry O’Neal de hane Segrave (22 September 1896 – 13 June 1930) was famous for setting three land speed records and the water speed record. He was the first person to hold both the land and water speed records simultaneously.
Grand Prix motor racing career
He was the first Briton to win a Grand Prix in a British car. After a further win at Miramas in France, he retired from racing to concentrate on speed records.
Land speed record
On 21 March 1926, he set his first land speed record in his 4 litre Sunbeam Ladybird at the Southport sands at Lancashire, United Kingdom at 174.22 mph (280.38 km/h).
He regained the land speed record in 29 March 1927 in his Mystery Sunbeam 1000 hp at the Daytona Beach Road Course at 203.79 mph (327.97 km/h), when he became the first person to travel over 200 mph (320 km/h).
Segrave set his final land speed record at 231.36 mph (372.34 km/h) in his new car, the Irving-Napier Golden Arrow, at Daytona Beach on 11 March 1929. This car had 18.74 miles (30.16 km) on it when it set the record, which is the least used car to set the record. He began concentrating on the water speed record after being the first person on the scene of the Lee Bible death.
Water speed record led to his death
After his 1929 land speed record, he immediately went to Miami to race Garfield Wood.
On Friday 13 June 1930, Sir Henry Segrave unknowingly captured the water speed record in Miss England II on Lake Windermere.
Kaye Don would later break two more world water speed records in Miss England II.
His book
The Lure of Speed (1928)
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