Ole Evinrude
| Ole Evinrude | |
| Born | April 19, 1877 Oslo, Norway |
|---|---|
| Died | July 12, 1934 Milwaukee, WI USA |
| Nationality | Norwegian-American |
| Known for | outboard motor |
Ole Evinrude, born Ole Evenrudstuen (April 19, 1877—July 12, 1934) was a Norwegian-American inventor, known for the invention of the first outboard motor with practical commercial application.[1][2]
Evinrude was born in Norway and at the age of five emigrated with his family to the United States, settling in Cambridge, Wisconsin. At age sixteen he went to Madison, where he worked in machinery stores and studied engineering on his own. He became a machinist while working at various machine tool firms in Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, and Chicago.
In 1900, Evinrude co-founded the custom engine firm Clemick & Evinrude. In 1907, he invented the first practical and reliable outboard motor, which was built of steel and brass, and had a crank on the flywheel to start the two-cycle engine.
Evinrude reported that his invention was inspired by rowing a boat on a small lake outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin on a hot day to get ice cream for his girlfriend, Bess.[3] By 1912, the firm employed 300 workers. Evinrude let two motorcycle mad teens tinker in his Milwaukee based machine shop; one was named Arthur Davidson who went on to Harley-Davidson motorcycle fame, also based in Milwaukee. Ole Evinrude formed Evinrude Outboard Motors, which he sold in 1913 in order to look after his sick wife.
In 1919, Evinrude invented a more efficient and lighter two-cylinder motor. Having sold his part in Clemick & Evinrude, he founded ELTO or the Elto Outboard Motor Company. (ELTO was an acronym for "Evinrude Light Twin Outboard".)
Although Elto faced stiff competition from other companies, such as Johnson Motor Company of South Bend, Indiana, Evinrude's company survived through acquisitions, eventually forming the Outboard Marine Corporation. After Evinrude died in 1934, soon after the death of his wife, his son, Ralph Evinrude, took over day-to-day management of the company, eventually rising to Chairman of the Board.
Notes
- ^ http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term=2423&search_term=evinrude
- ^ http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/highlights/archives/2009/02/ole_evinrude.asp
- ^ Biographical information from Spartacus
References
- Bjork, Kenneth. "Ole Evinrude and the Outboard Motor," Norwegian-American Studies and Records, 12 (1941): 167-177.
- Carstensen, Fred. "Evinrude, Ole," American National Biography Online, Feb. 2000.
External links
- Brief biography
- Lambrecht, Ralph E.. "A Wisconsin Legend: Ole Evinrude and his Outboard Motor," Wisconsin Magazine of History, vol. 89, no. 3, (Spring 2006)