Lincoln Motor Company
The Lincoln Motor Company was founded in August 1917 by Henry Leland and his son Wilfred. Among the founders of Cadillac, Leland had sold the company to General Motors in 1909, remaining on as an executive until 1917, when he left over a dispute with GM President William Durant. Naming Lincoln Motor Company after Abraham Lincoln, the first President for whom he ever voted (1864), Leland financed the company by securing a $10 million contract to build Liberty V12 aircraft engines, breaking ground on the Lincoln Motor Company Plant. To build the Liberty engines, Lincoln sourced parts from other manufacturers; along with cylinders produced by Ford, other parts were sourced from Buick, Cadillac, Marmon, and Packard. In total, 6,500 Liberty V12 engines were produced by Lincoln before the end of World War I ceased wartime production.
John C. Lincoln
Lincoln was experimenting with high speed crushing rolls when he died on May 24, 1959, at the age of 92. He is buried in Phoenix's Greenwood/Memory Lawn Mortuary & Cemetery. At the time of his death he was survived by Mrs. Lincoln, two daughters and three sons. Lincolns' 55th patent was awarded posthumously for a spring cushion that's still used in cars today. Lincoln Drive in Phoenix is named after him. In 1998, Lincoln was posthumously inducted into the American Mining Hall of Fame.