Carl Eric Wickman (born Erik Wretman; 7 August 1887 – 5 February 1954) was a Swedish-born businessman who was the founder of

Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. is an American operator of Intercity bus service, intercity bus services. Greyhound operates the largest intercity bus network in the United States, and also operates charter and Amtrak Thruway services, as well as interci ...

Background

Wickman was born Erik Wretman at Martisgården, a family farm located near the small village of Limbäck in the parish of

Våmhus Våmhus is a urban areas of Sweden, locality situated in Mora Municipality, Sweden, Mora Municipality, Dalarna County, Sweden with 857 inhabitants in 2010. It is situated by the Orsa Lake's northwest beach. Våmhus has a characteristic local diale ...

, 15 km north of Mora in the province

Dalarna Dalarna (; ), also referred to by the English exonyms Dalecarlia and the Dales, is a (historical province) in central Sweden. Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland. It is also bordered by Nor ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. He was the son of farmer Karl Viktor Wretman (1858-1947) and Anna Matsdotter (1862-1943) and the maternal grandson of hair jewelry artist Martis Karin Ersdotter. He was the eldest of five siblings and was commonly known as ''Martis Jerk'' ("Martis" is the farm name and "Jerk" is the dialectal form of the name Erik). He changed his name to Carl Eric Wickman in 1905, when he arrived in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

as a Swedish emigrant. His father Victor had earlier used the surname Wickman when he worked in the United States.

Career

Wickman worked in a mine as a drill operator in

Hibbing, Minnesota Hibbing is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 16,214 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city was built on mining the rich iron ore of the Mesabi Iron Range an ...

until he was laid off in 1914. In the same year, Wickman became a Hupmobile salesman as a partnership-owner. When he could not sell the first Hupmobile he received, he began operating a livery route from Hibbing and Alice, Minnesota. By using the seven multi-seat Hupmobile, he drove his former colleagues between the mines and homes. This was the start of what would later become the largest bus line in the United States, renamed "Greyhound Lines" in 1914. In 1925, he bought a small line operating out of

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that was owned by Orville Swan Caesar (1892–1965). Within a year, the duo formed Northland Transportation Company. The company formally changed its name to The Greyhound Corporation in 1930. By 1934, he had expanded to 50 buses and had revenues of $340,000. Wickman retired as president of Greyhound Corporation in 1946. In 1952, he sold his interest in the business for $960,000.

Personal life

In 1916, Wickman married Olga Rodin (1897–1977). They had two children Robert (Bob) and Peggy (Margaret). In 1940 King Gustav V of Sweden awarded Wickman with the

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry founded on 29 May 1772 by Gustav III, King Gustav III. It is awarded to Swedish citizens for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. His ...

, first class. He died aged 66 in 1954 and was buried at Lakewood Cemetery in

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.''C. Wickman Dies; Headed Bus Line'' (''

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''. 6 February 1954)

Companies founded

*Mesaba Transportation Company – 1915 *Motor Transit Corporation – 1922 *Northland Transportation Company – 1925 *Greyhound Pacific – around 1930 * The Greyhound Corporation – 1930

References

Additional sources