1. Alexander Winton was a Scottish-American bicycle, automobile, and diesel engine designer and inventor, as well as a businessman and racecar driver.
16 Facts About Alexander Winton
1. 2.
Alexander Winton's pioneering achievements in the automotive industry included taking one of the first long-distance journeys in America by car and developing one of the first commercial diesel engines.
3.
Alexander Winton died in 1932 and is interred in Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland.
4.
Alexander Winton's father was a marine engineer, and young Alexander followed in his father's profession.
5.
In July 1897 Alexander Winton embarked on one of the first long-distance journeys by car in America, traveling from Cleveland to New York City over the course of nine days.
6.
The purpose of the journey was twofold: Alexander Winton wanted to prove the reliability of his automobile, and he sought to entice investors and enhance publicity.
7.
On March 4,1898, Alexander Winton sold a car to Robert Allison of Port Carbon, Pennsylvania, for approximately $1000.
8.
Alexander Winton invented the world's first semi-truck in 1898 and sold his first manufactured semi-truck in 1899.
9.
Alexander Winton was a prolific inventor, with over 100 patents in the fields of motor cars and engines.
10.
Alexander Winton allowed free use of his patents when a question of safety was involved.
11.
Alexander Winton was a pioneer in using racing to promote his automobile business, because of the attention racing garnered as well as the focus on technical innovation.
12.
Alexander Winton retired from racing, but built a Bullet No 3 which Oldfield raced around the United States during his career.
13.
Alexander Winton married Jeanie Muir McGlashan in 1883.
14.
Alexander Winton married LaBelle McGlashan in 1906; they had two children: LaBelle and Clarice.
15.
Alexander Winton married Marion Campbell in 1927 and they divorced in 1930.
16.
Alexander Winton was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2005, and National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2006.