Arthur Davidson: The Life And Death Of Harley Davidson

William Sylvester Harley was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on December 29, 1880. He received a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He co-founded Harley Davidson with Arthur Davidson in 1903 and served as a chief engineer until his death in 1943. He was married with whom he had two sons and a daughter. He is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery and Mausoleum in Milwaukee and was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.

Arthur Davidson was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on February 11, 1881. Arthur went into business with William S. Harley, making motorcycles in his family shed. Motorcycles “take the hard work out of pedaling a bicycle” He was a story teller, salesman, and United States Patriot. Arthur Davidson

By 1909, Harley Davidson hired 35 employees.

Up until his death, Harley proved instrumental in the company’s success and introduction of new bikes. He had a passion for testing out his new bikes. Harley died of heart failure on September 18, 1943. He is buried in Milwaukee. In 1998, he was put into the motorcycle Hall of Fame in Columbus, Ohio.

Arthur Davidson’s next move was to convince government officials that motorcycles should replace bicycles in the U.S. Postal Service. By 1914 the Postal Service had more than 4,800 Harley-Davidson motorcycles in its transportation fleet. By the time World War I was over, Harley-Davidson had become the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world, and its motorcycles could be bought from more than 2,000 dealers in 67 countries worldwide.

Overtime, Arthur Davidson gradually removed himself from the business operations and spent more time on his other work. He established a trust fund and donated land for a Boy Scout camp and supported a Wisconsin home for the blind.

When Davidson died he left behind a motorcycle empire and a publicly traded company worth over $10 billion. In honor of his legacy, in 1998 he was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of

He donated to a blind home. Davidson remained active with Harley-Davidson until his untimely death in 1950 when, in a sad twist of fate, Davidson, Davidson 's son, James, and his wife died in an automobile accident in 1966.

Obsessed with improving his invention, Harley began working on a design for a two-cylinder engine. After a false start in 1907, he perfected the model in 1909. The new engine, called a V-Twin, could propel a motorcycle at a lightning speed of 60 mph. thanks to the success of the V-twin, the company quickly developed a reputation for building reliable, fast motorcycles and by 1910, annual production rose to 3,200 machines.

Although Pershing never caught Villa, the motorcycle proved its worth in combat, and when America entered World War I, Harley-Davidson was drafted. In 1917, Harley was supplying about half of its motorcycles to the military. But by the end of the war, all of Harley-Davidson 's production was going to the military¬-more than 20,000 motorcycles in all.

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