Washington A. Roebling II

Washington Augustus Roebling II (1881-1912) was an American businessman and early automobile manufacturer from Trenton, New Jersey, a member of the Roebling family of industrialists and a nephew of the Brooklyn Bridge engineer Washington Roebling. After working in the family firm, John A. Roebling Sons Company, he became secretary of the Walter Automobile Company and in 1909 arranged to take it over when it fell into financial trouble. Moved to a former brewery in Hamilton, New Jersey, it became the Mercer Automobile Company, with Roebling as general manager. Mercer aimed at the high end and racing markets, and Roebling tested every model before sale, raced himself, finished second in the Savannah Trophy Race for Light Cars in November 1911 and worked with the French designer Etienne Planche on the Roebling-Planche racing car. In April 1912, returning from a motoring trip through Italy and France, he travelled first class on RMS Titanic and died in the sinking; his body was never found. The Mercer company was taken over by outside investors in 1919 and folded after receivership in 1925.