Wikipedia:Today's featured article/January 7, 2010



Elwood Haynes (1857–1925) was an American inventor, metallurgist, automotive pioneer, entrepreneur and industrialist. He invented the metal alloys stellite and martensitic stainless steel and designed one of the earliest automobiles in the United States. His design is recognized as the first that was acceptable for mass production and, with the Apperson brothers, he formed the first company in the United States to profitably produce automobiles. Because of his many advances in the automotive industry, he is sometimes called the Father of the Automobile. His frequent travels drew his interest to the idea of a mechanical device that could transport without need of a horse, and he began to formulate plans for a motorized vehicle in the early 1890s; he successfully road tested his first car, the Pioneer, on July 4, 1894. He formed a partnership with Elmer and Edgar Apperson in 1896 to start Haynes-Apperson for the commercial production of  automobiles, and he renamed it Haynes Automobile Company in 1905, following the loss of his partners. He formed Haynes Stellite Company to produce one of the new alloys he invented and received lucrative contracts during World War I, making Haynes a millionaire in 1916. (more...)

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