Josiah Dallas Dort (February 27, 1861 – May 17, 1925) was an American engineer and automobile pioneer of the United States automobile industry. He was born in
Inkster, Michigan
Inkster is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2010 census, the city population was 25,369.
History
The area was originally inhabited by Native Americans. It was settled by non-indigenous people in 1825. A post offi ...
on February 27, 1861. His father was a well-to-do country squire and merchant, well connected politically, who died in 1871 when Josiah was 10. Dort left school at age 15 to help his mother in business and to work at a crockery firm. He moved to
Flint, Michigan in 1879. In 1881, he began working at a Flint hardware store, and within a few years opened his own hardware store.
He made a $1,000 investment in 1886 (equivalent to $ in ) to become a partner with
William C. Durant
William Crapo Durant (December 8, 1861 – March 18, 1947) was a leading pioneer of the United States automobile industry and co-founder of General Motors and Chevrolet. He created a system in which a company held multiple marques – each s ...
in a new carriage business called the
Flint Road-Cart Company. Durant was the salesman and Dort the partnership's administrator, running the factories. Together they made Durant-Dort one of the world's largest carriage producers. Dort and Durant invested in a controlling interest in
Buick in 1904 when the new owner ran short of capital. Durant's marketing ability was an overwhelming success, and they formed
General Motors in 1908. Durant lost control of GM to bankers in 1911 and they re-established themselves by creating a new brand of automobile,
Chevrolet. Dort was president of Chevrolet but the following year, in 1915, he left and founded
Dort Motor Car Company
The Dort Motor Car Company of Flint, Michigan, built automobiles from 1915 to 1924.
In 1886, William Crapo "Billy" Durant and Josiah Dallas ("Dallas") Dort, as equal partners, established the Flint Road-Cart Company, later named the Durant ...
. By 1920 Dort was the country's 13th largest automobile producer
but in 1924 Dort decided to retire and liquidated Dort Motor Car Company. He sold the factory building to
AC Spark Plug
ACDelco is an American automotive parts brand owned by General Motors (GM). Factory parts for vehicles manufactured by GM are consolidated under the ACDelco brand, which also offers aftermarket parts for non-GM vehicles. Over its long history it ...
.
Dort had many involvements outside his business interests. Music institutions (
Flint Institute of Music
The Flint Institute of Music, also called the FIM, is located in the Flint Cultural Center in Flint, Michigan. It is ranked as the 8th largest community music school in the United States. The FIM is made up of The Flint Symphony Orchestra, Flint ...
is built on the site of his home and its main offices are in the Dort Music Centre), a mutual benefit association for his employees which paid their medical bills, the local Shakespeare club, Knights Templar of the Masonic Order, Flint YMCA, Flint's first hospital—now
Hurley Medical Center.
[
Flint area trunkline Dort Highway (M-54) is named in his honor.]
Personal life
Dort married Nellie M. Bates on January 12, 1887, and they had two children. She died in 1900, and he remarried to Marcia Webb on May 8, 1907. They had three children.
He died while playing a round of golf on May 17, 1925, aged 64.Pioneer Auto Maker is Dead
Associated Press Dort was interred at in
Glenwood Cemetery.
See also
*
Flint, Michigan auto industry
Flint, Michigan is a city which previously relied on its automotive industry, and still does to an extent. Over the past several decades, General Motors plants in Genesee County have experienced re-namings, management shifts, openings, closu ...
*
History of General Motors
The history of General Motors (GM), one of the world's largest car and truck manufacturers, dates back more than a century and involves a vast scope of industrial activity around the world, mostly focused on motorized transportation and the engin ...
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dort, Josiah Dallas
1861 births
1925 deaths
American founders of automobile manufacturers
Burials at Glenwood Cemetery (Flint, Michigan)
People in the automobile industry
People from Flint, Michigan
General Motors former executives
Businesspeople from Michigan