Dodge brothers were two pioneers in automobile manufacturing. John Francis Dodge was born on Oct. 25, 1864, and Horace Elgin Dodge, on May 17, 1868, both in Niles, Michigan. The Dodge brothers began their business careers making bicycles. In 1901, they opened a machine shop in Detroit. The brothers built parts for the Olds Motor Works and Ford Motor Company.
The Dodge brothers began making their own automobiles in 1914 and founded Dodge Brothers, Inc., that same year. Their first car, the 1915 Model 30, achieved quick success. It was one of the first automobiles built in the United States with an all-steel body. Horace Dodge invented many improvements for automobiles, including an oven for baking enamel on steel bodies.
In 1920, both Dodge brothers died as the result of an influenza epidemic (outbreak). John died on Jan. 14, 1920, in New York City, and Horace, on Dec. 10, 1920, in Palm Beach, Florida. The Dodge Company became part of Chrysler Corporation in 1928.
See also Dodge.
