John Dodge, who with his brother Horace co-founded the Dodge
Brothers Company, which was once America's third-largest
automaker and later became part of Chrysler, dies at the age of
55. John Francis Dodge was born on October 25, 1864, while his
brother Horace Elgin Dodge arrived four years later, on May 17,
1868. The brothers grew up in Michigan and began their careers
as machinists. In 1897, they co-founded a bicycle company;
however, by 1900, they had sold the business and opened a
machine shop in Detroit to make parts for the fledgling auto
industry. In 1901, Ransom Olds hired the Dodges to produce
engines for his new curved-dash Oldsmobile vehicles. Next, Henry
Ford contracted with the brothers to build engines,
transmissions and axles. Ford was unable to pay the Dodges fully
in cash, so he gave them stock in his company. (In 1919, the
brothers sold their Ford Motor Company stock back to Henry Ford
for $25 million.) After supplying parts to Ford for a decade,
the Dodge brothers decided to start their own