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Leo Goossen
Leo William Goossen (7 June 1892 – 4 December 1974) was a draftsman, mechanical engineer and automobile designer. He is known for his work with Harry Miller and his long involvement in the design and ongoing development of the four-cylinder Offenhauser ("Offy") racing engine.
Goossen is considered to have been the preeminent American designer of racing engines over a fifty-year period that began in the early 1920s.
Goossen's parents, Izaac and Kate, immigrated to the US from the Netherlands. They settled in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where Goossen was born. The family later moved to Flint, Michigan.
In 1908 Goossen left school at 16 to work as a blueprint machine operator in the engineering department of the Buick division of the nascent General Motors. He continued his education by taking classes in mathematics and engineering at night.
Goossen's work caught the attention of two of Buick's principals at the time: Chief Engineer Enos Anson (E.A.) de Waters and Engine Designer Walter E. Marr. When Marr retired and relocated to Chattanooga, Tennessee, he continued to work on special projects for the division. Goossen relocated to Chattanooga to collaborate with Marr.
In or around 1917 Goossen was diagnosed with tuberculosis, discovered during a military medical exam. He spent time in a sanatorium, but was told to relocate to a drier climate to complete his convalescence.
Goossen left Buick in January 1919, and moved to the southwestern US. While there he worked briefly as a cow-hand near Silver City, New Mexico.
From New Mexico Goossen went to Los Angeles. He applied for a job at the Miller race car workshop, and presented a letter of reference written by Walter P. Chrysler. Goossen began working for Miller in August 1919.
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Leo Goossen
Leo William Goossen (7 June 1892 – 4 December 1974) was a draftsman, mechanical engineer and automobile designer. He is known for his work with Harry Miller and his long involvement in the design and ongoing development of the four-cylinder Offenhauser ("Offy") racing engine.
Goossen is considered to have been the preeminent American designer of racing engines over a fifty-year period that began in the early 1920s.
Goossen's parents, Izaac and Kate, immigrated to the US from the Netherlands. They settled in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where Goossen was born. The family later moved to Flint, Michigan.
In 1908 Goossen left school at 16 to work as a blueprint machine operator in the engineering department of the Buick division of the nascent General Motors. He continued his education by taking classes in mathematics and engineering at night.
Goossen's work caught the attention of two of Buick's principals at the time: Chief Engineer Enos Anson (E.A.) de Waters and Engine Designer Walter E. Marr. When Marr retired and relocated to Chattanooga, Tennessee, he continued to work on special projects for the division. Goossen relocated to Chattanooga to collaborate with Marr.
In or around 1917 Goossen was diagnosed with tuberculosis, discovered during a military medical exam. He spent time in a sanatorium, but was told to relocate to a drier climate to complete his convalescence.
Goossen left Buick in January 1919, and moved to the southwestern US. While there he worked briefly as a cow-hand near Silver City, New Mexico.
From New Mexico Goossen went to Los Angeles. He applied for a job at the Miller race car workshop, and presented a letter of reference written by Walter P. Chrysler. Goossen began working for Miller in August 1919.