William Benson Mayo (7 January 1866 – 1 February 1944) was chief power

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

for the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

Biography

Mayo was born in

Chatham, Massachusetts Chatham () is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. Chatham is located at the southeast tip of Cape Cod and has historically been a fishing community. First settled by the English in 1664, the township was originally called Mo ...

on 7 January 1866 to Andrew Stevens and Amanda Nickerson Mayo. He worked initially as a sign painter in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, but accepted a position as an office boy for a manufacturer of steam engines,

Hooven-Owens-Rentschler The firm of Hooven, Owens, Rentschler, and Company manufactured steam and diesel engines in Hamilton, Ohio. Because the firm was frequently known by its initials, H.O.R., the ''Hooven'' is sometimes incorrectly rendered as ''Hoover'', and the '' ...

. He became a salesman in the Boston office, then was promoted to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. In 1906 he moved to the corporate office in

Hamilton, Ohio Hamilton is a city in and the county seat of Butler County, Ohio, United States. Located north of Cincinnati, Hamilton is the second largest city in the Greater Cincinnati area and the 10th largest city in Ohio. The population was 63,399 at th ...

as a vice-president, handling the largest sales accounts. In 1913 the company was approached by Ford to provide power generation equipment for Ford's

Highland Park, Michigan Highland Park is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 8,977 at the 2020 census. Along with its neighbor of Hamtramck, Highland Park is an enclave city surrounded by the city of Detroit. History The area tha ...

complex. Mayo became well acquainted with

Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that mi ...

, who hired him to become the chief power engineer. In 1917 Mayo was given primary responsibility for planning and construction of the River Rouge Plant complex. Subsequently, he was responsible for the construction of other Ford plants, using hydro-electric power at

Green Island, New York Green Island is a coterminous town-village in Albany County, New York, United States, some north of Albany. Green Island is one of only five such town-village amalgamations in New York. The population was 2,620 at the 2010 census, and the ZIP ...

and St. Paul, Minnesota. Ford operates a plant in St. Paul and generates hydroelectric power there to this day. In 1919, when

Edsel Ford Edsel Bryant Ford (November 6, 1893 – May 26, 1943) was an American business executive and philanthropist who was the son of pioneering industrialist Henry Ford and his wife, Clara Jane Bryant Ford. He was the president of Ford Motor Company f ...

became president of Ford, Mayo became his consultant and advisor. In 1926 he became head of Ford's Aircraft Division, which developed and built the

Ford Trimotor The Ford Trimotor (also called the "Tri-Motor", and nicknamed the "Tin Goose") is an American three-engined transport aircraft. Production started in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and ended on June 7, 1933, after 199 had been made. It w ...

; he was also responsible for the construction of Ford's pioneering private airport (now the location of a Ford test track) and the first airport hotel (now the

Dearborn Inn The Dearborn Inn, A Marriott Hotel, is a luxurious historic hotel, conceived by Henry Ford, who saw a need for food and accommodations for visitors flying into the nearby Ford Airport, making it one of the first airport hotels. It is located in ...

). Although sometimes referred to as Ford's chief engineer, his expertise was in power distribution and facility engineering — he focused primarily on plant, rather than the automotive products. Mayo also served as a director of the

Detroit Aircraft Corporation The Detroit Aircraft Corporation was incorporated in Detroit, Michigan on July 10, 1922, as the Aircraft Development Corporation. The name was changed in 1929. The Detroit corporation owned the entire capital stock of the Ryan Aircraft Corp., Air ...

which went into receivership in 1931 during the depression. He elected to retire in 1932. In retirement, he served as an officer of several transportation companies. He died in Detroit on 1 February 1944.

Sources

*''Henry's Lieutenants'' by Ford Bryan, Great Lakes Books, 1993 *''My Forty Years with Ford'' by Charles E. Sorensen, W.W. Norton, 1956 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mayo, William B. 1866 births 1944 deaths Ford people Engineers from Massachusetts Ford executives People from Chatham, Massachusetts