Karl Rapp is recognised as a founder of BMW. though the history of the company name is a bit convoluted. In 1913, Rapp, supported by an investor, acquired an aircraft engine manufacturer, Flugwerke Deutschland, that had gone in to liquidation, and it became Rapp Motorenwerke GmbH.
An order for high altutude engines from the Prussian army required some legal restructuring and in 1917 Karl Rapp left, prompting the name to be changed to Bayerische Motoren Werke GmbH (BMW).
In 1923, BMW produced its first motorcycle, the R32.
Rapp left the industry in 1934 and went to live in Switzerland, running a small observatory making solar observations. He died on this day in 1962, aged 79.