Alec Issigonis

Full Name: Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis
Profession: Automotive Designer

Nationality:

Biography: Alec Issigonis was a British-Greek automotive designer, best known for designing the Mini. This car, which has become iconic worldwide as a symbol of the British automotive industry, was created by Issigonis and launched in 1959 by the British Motor Corporation.

Issigonis was born in Smyrna, but his father had become a naturalised British citizen while studying in London. When tensions arose within Smyrna, his family was evacuated to Malta and then Issigonis moved to the United Kingdom after the death of his father.

His career in the automotive industry started at Humber, and he even raced an Austin Seven from the 1930s. His work on his supercharged "Ulster" version of this car led him to a job at Austin. After Austin, Issigonis went to work for Morris and then Alvis Cars.

By this point the British Motor Corporation had been formed by the merger of Morris and Austin, and Issigonis was brought back to work at the Austin plant by Sir Leonard Lord, who was the chairman of BMC at the time. He was tasked with designing three vehicles, the smallest of which was rushed into production: the Mini.

Born: November 18, 1906
Birthplace: Smyrna, Greece, Ottoman Empire

Generation: Greatest Generation
Chinese Zodiac: Horse
Star Sign: Scorpio

Died: October 2, 1988 (aged 81)