Segrave, Henry O'Neal de Hane (1896–1930)

US-born British racing driver. Segrave won the French Grand Prix at Tours in 1923, at the wheel of a Sunbeam; this was the first of several race victories. From 1926, however, he turned his attentions to record breaking. In March 1927, at Daytona Beach, Florida, he set a new land speed record at 327.94 km/h (203.78 mph) in a Sunbeam. Later this was beaten, but Segrave regained the record in March 1929 with a speed of 372.46 km/h (231.45 mph) in the Napier-powered Golden Arrow. Segrave was killed on Lake Windermere, England, after setting a new world water speed record in his boat Miss England II.

Segrave was born in Baltimore, Maryland, of Irish descent. He was educated at Eton School and Sandhurst in England, going on to serve in France in World War I in the Warwickshire Regiment and the Flying Corps. He was attached to the British aviation mission to Washington, DC, in 1918. He left the Air Force in the same year and took up motor racing. He was knighted in 1929. A Segrave trophy is awarded each year for achievements in transport development.