Today in Technology History
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July 12
The inventor of the outboard motor died 68 years ago.
Ole Evinrude was born in Norway in 1877. His family moved to the U.S. when he was a small boy, settling in Wisconsin. Evinrude learned about machinery and mechanics by working on the family farm, and when he grew older he moved around the country, taking jobs at factories. Around the turn of the century he returned to Wisconsin and started a motor shop.
On a hot day in 1906, Evinrude was picnicking on a small island with Bess Cary, his future wife. (Some accounts say it was a private, romantic date, while others suggest that friends were present.) When Bess mentioned that she'd like some ice cream, Ole volunteered to get it -- even though it meant rowing quite some distance. By the time Ole returned with the gallon of ice cream, it had melted away.
That event inspired Evinrude to create a lightweight, detachable motor that could power small boats. He made his first tests in 1907, started a new company in 1909 and obtained a patent in 1911. Soon the company had hundreds of employees. Ole led the technical team and Bess was in charge of advertising and promotion. (She came up with the company's motto: "Don't row! Throw the oars away! Use an Evinrude motor.")
The Evinrudes retired early, but they got back into the small motor business in the 1920s. They continued to improve and sell their outboard motors, even during the lean years of the Depression.
Bess died in 1933 and Ole died the next year, at the age of 57, on July 12, 1934. The year he died, his company created the Lawn-Boy brand of lawnmowers, which still exists, as does the Evinrude brand of outboard motors -- although both brands are now owned by different companies.
Related links:
This PDF file tells the story of Ole and Bess Evinrude, and includes lots of pictures.
Scroll down on this page to read the corporate history of the company Evinrude started.
Click here to read about the history of Lawn-Boy lawnmowers.
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