Henry Leland and a Group of Men Posing with the 6,500th Lincoln Liberty Engine, 1918

As the United States prepared to enter World War I, Henry Leland wanted his Cadillac Motor Car Company to build Liberty V-12 aircraft engines for the military. But Billy Durant, head of corporate parent General Motors and a dedicated pacifist, refused Leland's request. Leland quit in protest, formed Lincoln Motor Company, and produced 6,500 of the engines.