Arthur Davidson Sr. (February 11, 1881 – December 30, 1950) was an American businessman. He was one of the four founders of

Harley-Davidson Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression along with i ...

Early life

Davidson was born in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, to William C. Davidson (1846–1923), who was born and grew up in

Angus, Scotland Angus (; ) is one of the 32 Local government in Scotland, local government council areas of Scotland, and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City (council area), Dundee City and Per ...

, and Margaret Adams McFarlane (1843–1933) of Scottish descent from the small Scottish settlement of Cambridge, Wisconsin; they raised five children together: Janet May, William A., Walter, Arthur and Elizabeth. Arthur's grandfather Alexander "Sandy" Davidson (from Aberlemno, Scotland) and Margaret Scott immigrated from Scotland to the United States in 1858 with their six children, including Arthur's father William.

Career

Eventually they settled in Wisconsin, and it was there that, in 1903, Arthur, went into business with William S. Harley, making motorcycles in his family shed. One of Davidson's favorite pastimes was fishing in the

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

wilderness, which inspired him to create a motorcycle that would, "take the hard work out of pedaling a bicycle". He was a storyteller, salesman, and United States patriot. During World Wars I and II, Arthur and the company diverted motorcycle production to support US troops. The "Honey Uncle" story is one of the family stories told about Davidson and a pivotal moment for the fate of the Harley-Davidson company. One day shortly after Davidson's cleaning lady visited, he discovered the seed money he had stashed between his mattress to start Harley-Davidson was missing. Davidson was able to borrow the $170 in venture capital needed for Harley-Davidson from an uncle who owned a bee farm in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

. From then on, the uncle was known as the "Honey Uncle" for helping the business get off the ground. The bee farm on

Lake Mendota Lake Mendota is a freshwater eutrophic lake that is the northernmost and largest of the four lakes in Madison, Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin. The lake borders Madison on the north, east, and south, Middleton, Wisconsin, Middleton on the west, Sho ...

was later sold to the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

, and is now known as Picnic Point in the Lakeshore Nature Preserve. Davidson was killed at the age of 69 in a two-car collision south of Davidson's home, a dairy farm, on Wisconsin Highway 59 near Waukesha, Wisconsin, on December 30, 1950. Also killed in the accident were Davidson's wife, Clara, as well as Dorothy and Donald Jeffery.

Labor Hall of Fame

Because Arthur Davidson, William A. Davidson, Walter Davidson and William S. Harley, "used and believed in its products and relied on the dedication of its employees to produce quality motorcycles", the four men were inducted into the Labor Hall of Fame.

References

External links

The Davidson Legacy
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Arthur 1881 births 1950 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople American chief executives in the automobile industry American founders of automobile manufacturers American people of Scottish descent American salespeople Businesspeople from Wisconsin Harley-Davidson designers Harley-Davidson executives Road incident deaths in Wisconsin Burials at Forest Home Cemetery