Charles Thomas Jeffery (13 May 1876 – 10 November 1935) was an American businessman.

Early life

He was the son of

Thomas B. Jeffery Thomas Buckland Jeffery (5 February 1845 – 2 April 1910) was a British emigrant to the United states who co-founded the Gormully & Jeffery company which made the Rambler bicycle. He invented the "clincher" rim which was widely used to fit tires ...

, founder of

Thomas B. Jeffery Company The Thomas B. Jeffery Company was an American automobile manufacturer in Kenosha, Wisconsin, from 1902 until 1916. The company manufactured the Rambler and Jeffery brand motorcars. It was preceded by the Gormully & Jeffery Manufacturing Company ...

, an

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

manufacturer.

Career

When his father died in 1910, Charles Jeffery assumed control of the Thomas B. Jeffery Company. Under his guidance, the firm continued to prosper. His most significant success was in the large number of heavy-duty

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

s he manufactured. The

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

was Jeffery's best customer during the years of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The four-wheel, chain-drive

Jeffery Quad The Jeffery Quad, also known as the Nash Quad or Quad is a four-wheel drive, 1-ton rated truck that was developed and built by the Thomas B. Jeffery Company from 1913 in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and after 1916 by Nash Motors, which acquired the Jeffer ...

eventually became the workhorse of the

Allied Expeditionary Force Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF; ) was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces in north west Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the commander in SHAEF t ...

. Jeffery also made impressive advances in sales of his automobile. He dropped the Rambler marque in 1914 in favor of "Jeffery" and produced 10,283 of them.

RMS ''Lusitania''

Jeffery was totally committed to the company and its success before he became a passenger on the ill-fated passenger ship ''

RMS Lusitania RMS ''Lusitania'' (named after the Roman province in Western Europe corresponding to modern Portugal) was a British ocean liner that was launched by the Cunard Line in 1906 and that held the Blue Riband appellation for the fastest Atlanti ...

'' in 1915. It was sunk by a

German submarine U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare rol ...

off the Irish coast, with a heavy loss of life. Jeffery survived, but he lost interest in the company, or as one author put it, "re-evaluated his priorities". The Jeffery Company was put up for sale, and Charles Nash purchased the Thomas B. Jeffery Company and Charles T. Jeffery's lakeside commercial property at 6221 Third Avenue, Kenosha.

Collections and death

During his lifetime Jeffery collected an extensive library of rare books, maps and autographs which was sold at auction following his death at

Merion Station, Pennsylvania Merion Station, also known as Merion, is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It borders Philadelphia to its west and is one of the communities that make up the Philadelphia Main Line. Merion Station is part of Lower Me ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeffery, Charles T. American inventors American Motors people Chrysler people American automotive pioneers American chief executives of manufacturing companies 1876 births 1935 deaths