Caleb Bragg

Caleb Smith Bragg (23 November 1885 – 24 October 1943) was an American racecar driver, speedboat racer, aviation pioneer, and automotive inventor. He participated in the 1911, 1913 and 1914 Indianapolis 500. In speedboat racing, Caleb won three consecutive APBA Challenge Cup races in Detroit from 1923-1925. He was a co-inventor of the Bragg-Kliesrath brake.

He was born on November 23, 1885 in Cincinnati, Ohio to Cais C. Bragg and Eugenia Hofer who were wealthy. While at Yale University he became interested in automobile racing. He graduated from Yale in 1908 and took a post-graduate engineering course at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1909. During World War I he became interested in flying airplanes and in 1916 he flew his first solo flight; he later set airplane records for speed and altitude.

He developed a braking system with Victor William Kliesrath called the Bragg-Kliesrath brake. They formed a company in 1920 and Ethel Merman was his personal secretary before she became famous. They sold the company to Bendix Corporation in the late 1920s.

In speedboat racing, Caleb won three consecutive APBA Challenge Cup races in Detroit from 1923-1925.

He died on 24 October 1943 in New York City, New York.