Kaiser, << KY zuhr, >> Henry John (1882-1967), an American industrialist, attracted national attention during World War II by the speed with which he built ships. He ignored the usual methods of building from the keel up, and used assembly line methods.
Kaiser was born on May 9, 1882, in Sprout Brook, New York. He left school at 13 to go to work. Later, he went to the Pacific Coast, where he became a roadbuilder. Kaiser and Joseph W. Frazer founded the Kaiser-Frazer Corporation to build automobiles in 1946. In 1953, this corporation bought Willys-Overland Motors, Inc., and later stopped making pleasure cars in the United States. Then Kaiser formed Willys Motors (later Kaiser Jeep Corporation) to produce four-wheel-drive vehicles. Kaiser Jeep Corporation was sold to American Motors Corporation in 1969. Kaiser died on Aug. 24, 1967.
Kaiser also had interests in aluminum, aviation, cement, health care, housing, land development, magnesium, and steel. Today, the major Kaiser companies are Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation, Kaiser Cement and Gypsum Corporation, and Kaiser Steel Corporation.
