On August 21, 1897, Ransom Eli Olds of Lansing, Michigan,
founded Olds Motor Vehicle Company, which would later
become Olds Motor Werks and then Oldsmobile.

Born in Geneva, Ohio, in 1864, Olds went to work for his
family’s machine-repair and engine-building business in
1883.

In 1896, Olds completed his first gasoline-powered vehicle,
and the following year he founded Olds Motor Vehicle
Company with financial backing from Samuel L. Smith,
who had made his fortune in lumber.

Ransom Eli Olds (1864 – 1950)