January's Anniversaries, continued - ALL 05 January:
1904 Olds Moves On
Ransom Eli Olds retired from Olds Motor Works on this day. Olds had founded the company in 1899 with financial help from Samuel L. Smith, a lumber tycoon. Olds made the most profitable car in the early 1900s, the tiller-steered Oldsmobile Runabout. In 1904, Olds was approached by his head of engineering, Henry Leland, who had designed a lighter, more powerful engine that could improve the Runabout dramatically. Olds refused to use the new engine, to the dismay of his backer, Samuel Smith. Smith forced Ransom Olds out of the company. Olds went on to found the REO (Ransom Eli Olds) Motor Car Company and Oldsmobile went on without him. Henry Leland, the clever engineer, took his motor elsewhere: it powered the world's 1st Cadillac.
1914 Ford Sets Record Wages
Henry Ford established a minimum wage of $5.00 per day in his automobile factories. These wages were twice what Ford had paid the year before, & much more than Ford's competitors were paying. The lofty minimum wage was made possible by Henry Ford's manufacturing breakthrough: the constant-motion assembly line, which carried moving cars past lines of workers. The 1st modern assembly line, Ford's process allowed him to build cars faster & cheaper than anyone else could. The profits rolled in, & Ford's workers shared in the wealth: an ironic beginning for an auto company that would go on to be a notorious enemy of labor in the '30s & '40s.
1924 Chrysler Builds His Own Car
Walter Chrylser, a GM executive who had pioneered the introduction of all-steel bodies in automobiles (instead of wood), introduced his 1st motorcar. After his departure from GM in 1920, Chrysler had breathed new life into the failing Maxwell Motor Company. The 1st Chrysler-built Maxwell was put on display in NY City's Commodore Hotel, where it drew admiring crowds. In 1925, the Maxwell Motor Company was renamed the Chrysler Corporation.
1933 A Bridge Across The Bay
Construction got started on the Golden Gate Bridge on this day in 1933. The bridge stretched across the San Francisco Bay & made it a lot easier to get around town. With its tall towers & famous red-paint job, the bridge quickly became a famous American landmark, & a symbol of San Francisco.
