Oscar Hedstrom (12 March 1871 – 29 August 1960) was a co-founder of the

Indian Motocycle Manufacturing Company Indian Motorcycle (or ''Indian'') is an American brand of motorcycles owned and produced by American automotive manufacturer Polaris Inc.Lönneberga Lönneberga is a village and parish in Hultsfred Municipality in the Swedish county of Kalmar County in the region of Småland. In 2000 the parish had 1323 inhabitants on 94 square kilometers, of which 190 lived in the village. Lönneberga is s ...

Hultsfred Municipality Hultsfred Municipality (''Hultsfreds kommun'') is a municipality in Kalmar County, in south-eastern Sweden. The seat is in the town of Hultsfred. The present municipality was created in 1971 through the amalgamation of the market town (''köping' ...

Kalmar County Kalmar County () is a county or '' län'' in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Kronoberg, Jönköping, Blekinge and Östergötland. To the east in the Baltic Sea is the island Gotland. The counties are mainly administrative units. Geo ...

Småland Småland () is a historical province () in southern Sweden. Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means ''Small Lands''. The Latinized fo ...

, Sweden. His family emigrated in 1880 to the United States, and settled in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York City. As a boy, he spent much time riding a bicycle around the city, and was fascinated by its mechanical design.

Career

At age 16, Hedstrom started working at a small engineering workshop in the Bronx, New York, where he learned to manufacture watch cases and components. He worked as an apprentice in several small workshops, until he was 21 when he obtained journeyman status.

On two wheels

In his spare time Hedstrom built high-quality bicycles that were lighter and more durable than standard bikes. He rented a workshop space in

Middletown, Connecticut Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States, Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, it is south of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated by English settler ...

where he designed and cast engines from his own patterns. He also designed and build a concentric carburetor. While his reputation as a bicycle designer grew, he started to build

tandem bicycles A tandem bicycle or twin is a form of bicycle (occasionally a tricycle) designed to be ridden by more than one person. The term tandem refers to the seating arrangement (fore to aft, not side by side), not the number of riders. Patents rela ...

with gasoline engines. These were called ''pacers'', and were used to split the wind for racing cyclists. The motorized pacers of that time functioned poorly, but Hedstrom's design quickly gained a reputation as being very reliable. At this time he came into contact with the former cyclist

George M Hendee George Mallory Hendee (October 2, 1866 – June 13, 1943) was a bicycle racer and co-founder of the Indian Motocycle Manufacturing Company. Hendee first became involved with the bicycle industry after his bicycle-racing career. Not only did Hend ...

from

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

, Massachusetts, who now manufactured bicycles and sponsored contests. Hendee was dissatisfied with the pacers available, and asked Hedstrom to take one of his to Springfield. Hendee was so impressed that he asked Hedstrom to develop a prototype for a mass-manufactured motorized bicycle. The first Indian prototype was then built and completed on May 25, 1901 by Hedström at the old Worcester Cycle Manufacturing Company in Middletown, Connecticut, and the first public demonstration was held on Cross Street in Springfield, Massachusetts at 12:00 noon on Saturday June 1, 1901.

Indian Company

The cooperation between Hedstrom and Hendee resulted in the Indian Company. Hedstrom's design was innovative, and successful. Oscar Hedstrom resigned from the Indian Company on 24 March 1913 after a disagreement with the board regarding dubious practices to inflate the company's stock values. George Hendee resigned in 1916. Hedstrom resided on his estate on the banks of the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...

until he died in 1960.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hedstrom, Oscar 1871 births 1960 deaths People from Hultsfred Municipality American motorcycle designers Indian Motorcycle designers Swedish emigrants to the United States