Stephen Foster Briggs (December 4, 1885 – October 16, 1976) was an American engineer, co-founder of the

Briggs & Stratton Briggs & Stratton Corporation is an American manufacturer of small engines with headquarters in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. Engine production averages 10 million units per year as of April 2015. The company reports that it has 13 large faciliti ...

manufacturing company, and founder of

Outboard Marine Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC) was a maker of Evinrude, Johnson and Gale Outboard Motors, and many different brands of boats. It was a multibillion-dollar Fortune 500 corporation. Evinrude began in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1907. OMC was based ...

Corporation.

Early life and education

Stephen Foster Briggs was born in

Watertown, South Dakota Watertown is a city in and the county seat of Codington County, South Dakota, United States. Watertown is home to the Redlin Art Center, which houses many of the works of Terry Redlin, one of the nation's most popular wildlife artists. Watertow ...

. Briggs then graduated from Watertown High School and from

South Dakota State College South Dakota State University (SDSU or SD State) is a public land-grant research university in Brookings, South Dakota, United States. Founded in 1881, it is the state's largest university and is the second oldest continually operating universit ...

Brookings, South Dakota Brookings is a city in and the county seat of Brookings County, South Dakota, Brookings County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 23,377 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in South Dakota, fo ...

Early career

Briggs' idea for his first product came from an upper-level engineering class project while at

. This first product was a six-cylinder, two-cycle engine, which Stephen Foster Briggs developed during his engineering courses at South Dakota State. After his graduation, he was eager to produce his engine and enter the rapidly expanding automobile industry. Bill Juneau, a coach at South Dakota State, knew of Briggs' ambition and the entrepreneurial interests of Harold M. Stratton, a successful grain merchant who had a farm next to Juneau's farm, so he introduced the two. In 1922, their fledgling company set a record in the

automotive industry The automotive industry comprises a wide range of company, companies and organizations involved in the design, Business development, development, manufacturing, marketing, selling, Maintenance, repairing, and Custom car, modification of motor ve ...

, selling the Briggs & Stratton Flyer (the "Red Bud") at record low prices of US$125-$150.

Briggs & Stratton company

Launched in 1908 in

Milwaukee 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 ...

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 ...

, and later based in

Wauwatosa, Wisconsin Wauwatosa ( ; colloquially Tosa) is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 48,387 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Wauwatosa is a suburb located immediately west of Milwaukee and is part of the Milwa ...

. The company began as an informal partnership between Briggs and Harold M. Stratton. Eventually Briggs and Stratton settled on manufacturing automotive components and small

gasoline engine A petrol engine (gasoline engine in American and Canadian English) is an internal combustion engine designed to run on petrol (gasoline). Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as Autogas, liquefied petroleum gas and Common ...

s. Briggs purchased an engine patent from A.O. Smith Company and began powering early washing machines and reel mowers, as well as many other types of equipment. The company went public on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...

in 1928. During World War II, Briggs & Stratton produced generators for the war effort. Some pre-war engines were made with aluminum, which helped the company develop its expertise in using this material. This development, along with the post-war growth of 1950s

suburbs A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

(and lawns), helped secure Briggs & Stratton's successful growth throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Stephen Briggs went on to purchase Evinrude and Johnson Outboards and start the

Outboard Marine Corporation Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC) was a maker of Evinrude Outboard Motors, Evinrude, Johnson Outboards, Johnson and Gale Outboard Motors, and many different brands of boats. It was a multibillion-dollar Fortune 500 corporation. Evinrude began in ...

. Frederick P. Stratton, Sr. (the son of Harold Stratton) served as Chairman of Briggs & Stratton until his death in 1976. Frederick P. Stratton, Jr. served as Chairman until his retirement in 2001.

References

External links

UWM alumni gallery

Briggs & Stratton Corporation
1885 births 1976 deaths 20th-century American engineers 20th-century American businesspeople South Dakota State University alumni {{US-engineer-stub