Pioneer of the Outboard Boat Motor
Ole Evinrude, an inventor and entrepreneur, founded a thriving industry and managed a successful company while maintaining a reputation as one of America's most honest and generous businessmen.
Evinrude was born on a farm outside Christiana, Norway. One of his earliest memories was his family's emigration to America when he was five in 1882, where he spent much of the trip in the ship's engine room. The family settled in Cambridge, Wisconsin, and Evinrude, finding school too easy, left grade school early.
Evinrude had a keen interest in working with farm tools and machinery, starting on his father's property and later as an apprentice and laborer in various factories across the Midwest, including in Chicago and Pittsburgh. A tireless worker, his only indulgence was a subscription to a mechanics magazine. In the 1890s, he first read about the internal combustion engine, which was already being used experimentally in Germany to power "horseless carriages."
At 23, Evinrude returned to Wisconsin and opened a pattern-making shop. In his spare time, he built his own horseless carriages, testing them around town to the amazement and dismay of the local residents. Despite his reputation as an engineer and eccentric, success eluded him.
Bess Cary, a young neighbor who managed Evinrude's modest office, became his fiancée in 1906. During a summer picnic that year, Evinrude rowed five miles in 90-degree heat to fetch ice cream for Bess. This experience led him to realize that a gasoline engine could power more than just automobiles.
The following summer, Evinrude tested his first outboard motor, a 1 1/2 horsepower, 62-pound iron engine that his new wife said looked like a coffee grinder. Despite initial skepticism, Bess became his ad executive, and her publicity efforts ("Don't Row! Throw the Oars Away!") helped make the motors a great success over the next two years.
Although other inventors had experimented with outboard motors as early as 1896, Evinrude's was the first commercial success. In 1911, he earned a patent (#1,001,260 for a "Marine Propulsion System") and formed a business partnership with tugboat magnate Chris Meyer. The Evinrudes worked tirelessly promoting their engines, but in 1914, they sold their business to Meyer to take a much-needed vacation, agreeing not to work in the field for five years. They toured the US with their young son, Ralph, during this period.
After the five years, the Evinrudes returned to Milwaukee. Ole, who had continued to innovate, offered Meyer his new invention: a twin-cylinder, 3-horsepower, 48-pound, aluminum outboard motor. Meyer declined, prompting Evinrude to start the "Elto" Company, competing with his original company. For ten years, they jockeyed for position, while a third competitor, Johnson Motors (est. 1922), took the industry lead.
Evinrude never stopped improving his motors, increasing his company's market share. In 1929, through a three-way merger forming Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC), Evinrude reacquired his first company. Later that year, the stock market crash triggered the Great Depression. Despite the economic challenges, Evinrude remained optimistic and generous, often discreetly helping friends and employees with cash during hard times.
Under Evinrude's leadership, OMC developed several industry firsts, including the electric starter, the folding shaft, and the 40-horsepower "Big Four." OMC also expanded its product line, introducing the "Evinrude Lawn-Boy" power lawnmowers in 1932.
In 1933, Bess Evinrude passed away, and Ole, devastated by her loss, died the following year. Their son Ralph, who had joined the company in 1927, became OMC's President. Ralph oversaw the acquisition of Johnson Motors in 1935 and restructured OMC based on "consolidated competition" among its divisions, similar to the approach of Chevrolet, Buick, and Oldsmobile. Today, OMC remains the leader in the outboard motor industry.
Ole Evinrude's legacy lives on in the outboard motors used by recreational boaters, fishermen, and even the military from World War II to Desert Storm. His career is a testament to the fact that hard work and a kind heart can coexist with great success
