| Birth: | Dec. 8, 1861 | | Death: | Mar. 18, 1947 | 
Industrialist and financier, best known as the founder of General Motors Corporation. He was born William Crapo Durant on December 8th, 1861 in Boston. He quit school at 16 to work in his grandfather's Flint, Michigan, lumberyard. By 1885 he had partnered with Josiah Dallas Dort to design a two-wheeled carriage and organized the Coldwater Road Cart Company to produce it. Sales took off and Durant and Dort soon became wealthy. By 1890, Durant-Dort Carriage Company was the nation's largest, producing approximately 50,000 horse-drawn vehicles a year. In 1904, Durant was approached by James Whiting of the Buick Company to promote his automobiles and persuaded him to join Buick as General Manager. In three short years Buick led the U.S. automobile production by manufacturing 8,820 vehicles. Between 1904 and 1908, Durant was made Buick's president and established several essential parts and accessory companies such as Weston-Mott and Champion Ignition Company. By 1908 the top four auto producers in the U.S. were Buick, Reo (headed by Ransom E. Olds), Maxwell -Briscoe, (headed by Benjamin and Frank Briscoe) and Ford (headed by Henry Ford). Benjamin Briscoe wanted all four producers to merge and form one large company. Negotiations began in New York at the House of Morgan, and ended when Ford demanded cash instead of stock and pulled out of the deal, along with Reo. Still determined to start this new auto company, Durant continued without Ford and Reo. On September 16, 1908, Durant incorporated General Motors of New Jersey (GM) with a capital investment of $2,000. Within 12 days the company issued stocks that generated over $12,000,000 in cash. GM then purchased Buick with stock. Six weeks later, GM acquired the Olds Corporation of Lansing, Michigan, followed by the Oakland Company. Oakland was located in Pontiac, Michigan, and would later be renamed Pontiac. Finally, Durant sought to acquire Cadillac Motor Car Company from the Leland father/son team. The Leland’s would only settle for cash to the tune of $4.5 million. GM could not raise this amount of money, but Buick, the cash cow, could. So, Cadillac was bought with Buick funds, thereby becoming a subsidiary of Buick. During this same period, Durant also acquired many truck and parts supply companies, including AC-Delco, which he helped form with Albert Champion and still bears his initials today. In an 18 month burst of aggressive wheeling and dealing, Durant purchased a substantial interest in almost 30 auto makers. However, all this acquisition came at a price. Durant became financially overextended and consequently, lost control of GM to banking interests in 1910. Undeterred, Durant partnered with Louis Chevrolet to form Chevrolet Motor Company in 1911 and used the profits from Chevrolet to regain control of GM in 1915. However, Durant's aggressive management style once again proved problematic. He was forced out in 1920 by then GM president Pierre DuPont in exchange for paying off Durant's debts. Determined to regain status in the automotive world, he formed Durant Motors in 1921 and produced a line of cars bearing his name for the next 10 years. However, a declining market and the Great Depression ended Durant's automotive career in 1933. From 1934 until his death, Durant dabbled in stocks, politics, and social issues. None of these later ventures reflected his former bold thinking and he faded from public life. On March 18, 1947, William Durant died in New York City, marking the end of a remarkable era in automotive excellence. (bio by: Edward Parsons)
Family links:
Spouse:
Clara Miller Pitt Bottler (1864 - 1940)*
Children:
Margery Pitt Durant Green (1887 - 1969)*
Russell Clifford Durant (1890 - 1947)*
*Calculated relationship
Search Amazon for William Durant | | | Burial:
Woodlawn Cemetery
Bronx
Bronx County
New York, USA |
Maintained by: Find A Grave
Record added: Dec 13, 1998
Find A Grave Memorial# 4151 |
|
|
|
-
Cindy
Added: Mar. 18, 2013 |
-
Jackie Howard
Added: Mar. 18, 2013 |
Remembering a distant cousin - 6th cousin, 3x removed, thru our shared SLOCUM lineage. May you rest in peace.
-
PJ
Added: Mar. 18, 2013 |
| There are 76 more notes not showing...
Click here to view all notes...
| |
|
|
(4.2 after 50 votes)
