Frederick Richard Simms

Family and education

Simms was born in Hamburg "of an old Warwickshire family",

In a 1907 trip to the Alps, Simms discovered a waterfall near the village of Holzgau, now called the Simmswasserfall.

Simms's career encompassed a wide variety of pursuits across multiple disciplines. Historically, he is primarily noted for his role in facilitating connections between Britain, continental Europe, and the United States. and became firm friends with Gottlieb Daimler, from whom in 1890 he purchased the rights for the use and manufacture of Daimler's high-speed petrol engine and other patents, in the British Empire – 'England and the colonies' (excluding Canada). They were first used in motor launches but soon paved the way for the start-up of the British motor industry.

Following the signal success of Daimler-powered Peugeots and Panhards at the 1894 Paris-Rouen Trials, Simms decided to open a motor car factory.

In 1902 he founded, and was elected the first president of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). In 1899 they established the jointly owned Compagnie des Magnetos Simms-Bosch but it foundered in 1906 on personal differences between the partners.

In 1907 Simms established the Simms Magneto Company Ltd to manufacture magnetos under licence from Robert Bosch but he was unable to compete with European prices and it closed in 1913. He had however contributed to Bosch's business by his stimulus to their further product development and in opening up the French market for Bosch. and a prototype indicator.