Knudsen, William S

Knudsen, William S

▪ American industrialist
original name  Signius Wilhelm Poul Knudsen  
born March 25, 1879, Copenhagen
died April 27, 1948, Detroit
 Danish-born American industrialist, an effective coordinator of automobile mass production who served as president of General Motors Corporation (1937–40) and directed the government's massive armaments production program for World War II.

      After Knudsen immigrated to the United States in 1900, he worked at a variety of jobs. In 1902 he began working for Keim Mills, a Buffalo bicycle factory, which in 1904 began manufacturing parts for the Ford Motor Company. Ford purchased the factory in 1911, and Knudsen was eventually transferred to Ford's Detroit plant. In 1914, the year that he became a U.S. citizen, he began supervising the establishment of Ford assembly plants throughout the United States. He directed the firm's construction of submarine patrol boats and other war matériel for the U.S. Navy during World War I. In 1922, after a falling-out with Henry Ford, he joined the General Motors Corporation; (General Motors Corporation) he was appointed president and general manager of the Chevrolet division in 1924 and president of General Motors in 1937.

      In 1940 President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Knudsen director of industrial production for the National Defense Research Committee. He continued to direct production of war matériel as head of the U.S. Office of Production Management (1941) and as lieutenant general in charge of production for the War Department (1942–45). He returned to private business in July 1945.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Knudsen, William — (1879 1948)    Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, William Knudsen came to the United States in 1900. He worked for a time for a bicycle manufacturer in Buffalo, New York, and then switched to producing parts for the Ford Motor Company, where he… …   Historical Dictionary of the Roosevelt–Truman Era

  • Knudsen, William Signius — orig. Signius Wilhelm Poul Knudsen born March 25, 1879, Copenhagen, Den. died April 27, 1948, Detroit, Mich., U.S. Danish U.S. industrialist. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1900. In 1914 he began supervising Ford Motor Co. assembly plants and… …   Universalium

  • Knudsen, William Signius — orig. Signius Wilhelm Poul Knudsen (25 mar. 1879, Copenhague, Dinamarca–27 abr. 1948, Detroit, Mich., EE.UU.). Industrial danés estadounidense. Emigró a EE.UU. en 1900; en 1914 comenzó a supervisar las plantas de montaje de Ford Motor Co. y a… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • William S. Knudsen — William Signius Big Bill Knudsen (March 25, 1879 April 27, 1948), was a leading automobile industry executive and a General in the U.S. Army.Knudsen was born in Denmark. His name was originally Signius Wilhelm Poul Knudsen. He came to the United… …   Wikipedia

  • William — /wil yeuhm/, n. 1. a word formerly used in communications to represent the letter W. 2. a male given name: from Germanic words meaning will and helmet. * * * (as used in expressions) Huddie William Ledbetter Aberhart William George William… …   Universalium

  • Knudsen — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Audun Foss Knudsen (* 1977), norwegischer Biathlet Erik Knudsen (Schriftsteller) (1922 2007), dänischer Schriftsteller Erik Knudsen (* 1988), kanadischer Schauspieler Gunnar Knudsen (1848–1928),… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Knudsen — is a surname of Scandinavian origin, derived from the personal name Knud (Canute).Knudsen refers to:*Persons **Gunnar Knudsen (1848 ndash;1928), Prime Minister of Norway 1908 ndash;1910 and 1913 ndash;1920 **Jens Martin Knudsen (1930 ndash;2005) …   Wikipedia

  • William Agee — William Joseph Bill Agee (born January 5, 1938 in Boise, Idaho) is a former American business executive, most notably as the CEO of Bendix in Michigan and later with Morrison Knudsen of Idaho. Agee also was placed on the cover of Time Magazine as …   Wikipedia

  • William Nylander — (1885) William Nylander, o Wilhelm Nylander fue un botánico, briólogo, micólogo, y entomólogo finlandés nacido en Uleåborg el 3 de enero de 1822 y muerto en París un 29 de marzo de 1899, uno de los más destacados investigadores en el campo de la… …   Wikipedia Español

  • William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin — Infobox Scientist box width = 300px name = Lord Kelvin image width = 300px caption = William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin (1824 1907) birth date = birth date|1824|6|26|df=y birth place = Belfast, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland death date = death date… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”