Ole
Evinrude was born in Norway
on 19th April, 1877. When Evinrude was five years old his family emigrated
to the United States and settled in Cambridge, Wisconsin.
Evinrude worked on his father's farm where he developed an interest
in machinery. He moved to Chicago where he found employment in various
factories. Evinrude read mechanics magazines and was fascinated by
news of the development of the internal combustion engine.
In 1900 Evinrude returned to Wisconsin and opened a pattern-making
shop. In his spare time he built his own motor cars. One day, he took
his girlfriend on a picnic to an offshore island. It was a very hot
day and while in the rowboat he came up with the idea of developing
an outboard boat motor.
Evinrude was not the only engineer working in this area but in 1909
he developed a one-cylinder power plant. The following year he established
Evinrude Motors in Milwaukee. Evinrude continued to experiment and
eventually produced a twin-cylinder, 3-horsepower, 48-pound, aluminum
outboard motor. He also produced a successful motorized lawnmower.
Ole Evinrude died in Milwaukee on 12th July, 1934. His son, Ralph
Evinrude took over running of Evinrude Motors. Two years later it
was merged with the Johnson Motor Company to form the Outboard Marine
Corporation.
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