Charles Morel of Domène (l'Isère) produced many inventions in the 1880s and 1890s, and as a partner in the Morel-Gerard company he made his fortune selling folding bicycles to the French, Romanian and Russian armies.
In 1897 he patented a four-stroke vertical twin engine similar to that used by the British many decades later. This was fitted to La Victoriette built by Bonnet and Morel which had the appearance of two bicycles bonded together.
There is a Rue Charles Morel in Domène, and a biography titled Charles Morel – constructeur dauphinois sous la troisième république by Jean-Pierre Borgis.
Sources: OTTW, onlinebicyclemuseum.co.uk
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