Lincoln - Birth and Rebirth

24 artifacts in this set

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The staff at The Henry Ford

Lincoln Motor Company was born in 1917 out of Henry Leland's patriotic desire to build airplane engines for the allied forces in World War I. After the armistice, Leland and his son Wilfred refashioned Lincoln into a high-end automaker. But a postwar recession forced the Lelands to sell to another father-son duo, Henry and Edsel Ford. Over the next 20 years, Lincoln grew into one of America's most admired luxury marques.

Detailed Description

Henry Leland in His Office with Wilfred Leland, Jr., Detroit, Michigan, circa 1922

Photographic print

Henry Leland (1843-1932) grew up in Vermont and learned the importance of precision manufacturing in New England's state-of-the-art factories. He relocated to Detroit and produced Oldsmobile engines and gears before founding Cadillac Motor Car Company in 1902. Following a dispute with Billy Durant, whose General Motors corporation acquired Cadillac in 1909, Leland resigned and founded Lincoln Motor Company in 1917.