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Alexander Winton
Photo: E. G. Williams & Bro, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons10

Alexander Winton

British transportation innovator (1860–1932)

Alexander Winton (June 20, 1860 – June 21, 1932) was a Scottish-American bicycle, automobile, and diesel engine designer and inventor, as well as a businessman and racecar driver. Winton founded the Winton Motor Carriage Company in 1897 in Cleveland, Ohio, making the city an important hub of early automotive manufacturing.2

From Wikipedia’s article on Alexander Winton (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Jun 20, 1860, died Jun 21, 1932.1

About

His pioneering achievements in the automotive industry included taking one of the first long-distance journeys in America by car and developing one of the first commercial diesel engines. Winton left the automotive manufacturing business when he liquidated his car company in 1924 to focus on his powertrain engineering firm, Winton Gas Engine & Mfg. Co., which he had established twelve years earlier to focus on engine development. This business was sold to General Motors in 1930 and became the Cleveland Diesel Engine Division. Winton died in 1932 and is interred in Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland.

From Wikipedia’s article on Alexander Winton, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2

Companies

Career

Occupation: businessperson, racing automobile driver, inventor, engineer.4

Racing career

Winton was a pioneer in using racing to promote his automobile business, because of the attention racing garnered as well as the focus on technical innovation. One of his first famous races was against Henry Ford, which he lost in 1901. In 1902 he built the first of three custom race cars; all were called the 'Bullet'. Bullet No. 1 was the first car to win a sanctioned race at Daytona Beach, Florida. Bullet No. 2 was built for the Gordon Bennett Cup in Ireland in 1903. It was one of the first 8-cylinder automobiles built. It suffered mechanical difficulties and did not complete the race, although after being brought back to the United States Barney Oldfield drove it to a near-record 80 miles per hour (130 km/h) at Daytona. Winton retired from racing, but built a Bullet No. 3 which Oldfield raced around the United States during his career.

From Wikipedia’s article on Alexander Winton (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Personal life

  • BornJun 20, 1860, Grangemouth5
  • DiedJun 21, 1932, Cleveland6
  • CitizenshipUnited States7

Family

He married Jeanie Muir McGlashan (died 1903) in 1883. They had six children: Helen, James, Agnes, Jeanie, Cathrine, and Alexander. He married LaBelle McGlashan (died 1924) in 1906; they had two children: LaBelle and Clarice. He married Marion Campbell in 1927 and they divorced in 1930. In 1930, he married Mary Ellen Avery.

From Wikipedia’s article on Alexander Winton (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Awards

  • 2006National Inventors Hall of Fame8

Sources

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