Henry M. Leland
Henry M. Leland (
16 February,
1843-
26 March,
1932) (born
Barton, Vermont, died
Detroit, Michigan) was a machinist, inventor, engineer and automotive entrepreneur.
He learned precision engineering and manufacturing in the firearms industry, where ultrafine tolerances were required. He applied this expertise to the nascent motor industry as early as
1870 as a principal in the machine shop Leland & Faulconer, and later was a supplier of engines to
Ransom E. Olds's company,
Oldsmobile. He also invented the electric barber clippers, and for a short time produced a unique toy train, the
Leland-Detroit Monorail.
He offered an engine to the directors of the
Henry Ford Company when
Henry Ford left in
1902. The directors were impressed and decided to build a car with this motor, and the company was recreated as
Cadillac.
At Cadillac, Leland pioneered many modern manufacturing processes, including the use of interchangeable, replaceable parts that could be manufactured by machine shops. This apparently independent extension of a principle credited to
Eli Whitney allowed automobiles to be repaired by independent garages and owners.
Leland sold Cadillac to
General Motors in
1908 for $4.5 million but remained as an executive until
1917. He left in dispute over the company's involvement in the war effort and formed the
Lincoln Motor Company to build Liberty aircraft engines. After the war, the company's factories were retooled to manufacture luxury automobiles.
In
1922 Lincoln became insolvent and was bought out by
Henry Ford's
Ford Motor Company. The Lincoln brand continues to be Ford's flagship luxury line today.
:
Short biography page by a relative:
Detroit News retrospective:
Olds history with a bit on Leland:
Historical article:
Another..:
Vermont historical marker
