John F. Dodge

John Francis Dodge (October 25, 1864 - January 14, 1920) was an American automobile manufacturing pioneer. October 25 is the 298th day of the year (299th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 67 days remaining. ... 1864 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... January 14 is the 14th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1920 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 7 - Forces of Russian White admiral Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk. ...

Born in Niles, Michigan, where his father owned a foundry and machine shop, John Dodge and his younger brother Horace were inseparable as children and as adults. Niles is a city located in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. ... State nickname: Wolverine State or Great Lakes State Other U.S. States Capital Lansing Largest city Detroit Governor Jennifer Granholm (D) Official languages English Area 250,941 km² (11th)  - Land 147,255 km²  - Water 103,687 km² (41. ... Horace E. Dodge Horace Elgin Dodge (May 17, 1868 - December 10, 1920) was an American automobile manufacturing pioneer. ...

In 1886, the Dodge brothers moved to Detroit where they took jobs at a boiler maker plant. In 1894 they went to work as machinists at the Dominion Typograph Company across the Detroit River in Windsor, Ontario. While John Dodge was the sales minded managerial type, brother Horace was a gifted mechanic and inveterate tinkerer. Using a dirt-proof ball bearing Horace invented and patented, in 1897 John arranged a deal for them to join with a third party investor to manufacture bicycles. Within a few years, they sold the bicycle business and in 1900 used the proceeds of the sale to set up their own machine shop in Detroit. In their first year of business the Dodge brothers' company began making parts for the automobile industry. In 1902 the Dodge brothers won a contract to build transmissions for the Oldsmobile Motor Company upon which they built a solid reputation for quality and service. However, the following year they turned down a second contract from Oldsmobile to retool their plant to build engines for Henry Ford in a deal that included a share position in the new Ford Motor Company. By 1910, John Dodge and his brother were so successful they a built a new plant in Hamtramck, Michigan. Motto: Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus (We Hope For Better Things; It Shall Rise From the Ashes - this motto was adopted after the disastrous 1805 fire that devastated the city) Nickname: The Motor City and Motown Location in Michigan Founded  -Incorporated July 24, 1701 1816  County Wayne County Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick... Detroit River seen from Grosse Ile Township, Michigan The Detroit River is about 51 km (32 miles) long and 1 to 4 km (0. ... }|135px|City of Windsor, Ontario Official Flag]]|Coat Image=[[Image:{{{Coat Image}}}|135px|City of Windsor, Ontario Coat of Arms]]}} {{Canadian City/Disable Field={{{Disable Motto Link}}}}} Motto: {{Canadian City/Location Image is:{{{Location Image Type}}}|[[Image:{{{Location Image}}}|thumbnail|center|250px|City of Windsor, Ontario, Canada location. ... This racing bicycle is built using lightweight, shaped aluminum tubing and carbon fiber stays and forks. ... Oldsmobile (or Olds) was a brand of automobile produced in the United States from 1897 to 2004. ... Time Magazine, January 14, 1935 Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was the founder of the Ford Motor Company and is credited with contributing to the creation of a middle class in American society. ... Hamtramck is a city located in Wayne County, Michigan in the United States of America. ...

In 1907 a prosperous John Dodge married employee Matilda Rausch with whom he had three children. The next year they purchased Meadow Brook Farm where their eldest child Frances would develop a love of horses that led her to acquiring Castleton Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, turning it into one of the leading horse breeding operations in the United States. Oakland University is a medium-sized state university located in Rochester, Michigan. ... City nickname: Horse Capital of the World Location in the state of Kentucky County Fayette Mayor Teresa Isaac Area  - Land  - Water 285. ...

For ten years the Dodge brothers business were Ford Motor Company suppliers, and John Dodge worked as vice president of the Ford company. He left Ford in 1913 and in 1914 he and Horace formed Dodge Brothers Inc. to develop their own line of automobiles. They began building motor trucks for the United States military during the arms buildup for World War I and in October of 1917 they produced their first commercial car. At war's end, their company produced and marketed both cars and trucks. The driver of a car transporter truck prepares to offload Skoda Octavia cars in Cardiff, Wales For further uses of the word truck, see Truck (disambiguation). ... The armed forces of the United States of America consist of the United States Army United States Navy United States Air Force United States Marine Corps United States Coast Guard Note: The United States Coast Guard has both military and law enforcement functions. ... World War I was primarily a European conflict with many facets: immense human sacrifice, stalemate trench warfare, and the use of new, devastating weapons - tanks, aircraft, machineguns, and poison gas. ...

Because of his temper and often crude behavior, John Dodge was seen as socially unacceptable to most of the well-heeled elite of Detroit. Nevertheless, his wealth made him an influential member of the community and he became active in Republican Party politics in Michigan. The Republican Party, often called the GOP (for Grand Old Party, although one early citation described it as the Gallant Old Party [1]), is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ...

In 1919, Henry Ford bought out the Dodge brothers shareholdings in Ford Motor Company for $9 million. In 1920, John Dodge died from the flu just as the Great Flu Epidemic was coming to an end. He was interred in the family mausoleum in Detroit's Woodlawn Cemetery. The Spanish Flu Pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza Pandemic, the 1918 Flu Epidemic, and La Grippe, was an unusually severe and deadly strain of influenza, a viral infectious disease, that killed some 25 million to 50 million people worldwide in 1918 and 1919. ...

His brother Horace died the following December and in 1925 their widows sold the Dodge Brothers automobile business to Dillon, Read investment bankers for $146 million. Investment banks assist corporations in raising funds in the public markets (both equity and debt), as well as provide strategic advisory services for mergers, acquisitions and other types of transactions. ...

In 1957, his widow donated their 1,500-acre Meadow Brook Farm, including Meadow Brook Hall, Sunset Terrace and all its other buildings and collections, along with $2 million to the Michigan State University. The property today is home to Oakland University. Oakland University is a medium-sized state university located in Rochester, Michigan. ...