Wednesday 11th June 1952

Born on this day, Kiichiro Toyoda, Japanese industrialist and the son of Toyoda Loom Works founder Sakichi Toyoda. He made the decision for Toyoda Loom Works to branch into automobiles, considered a risky business at the time. Shortly before Sakichi Toyoda died, he encouraged his son to follow his dream and pursue automobile manufacturing — Kiichiro created what eventually became Toyota Motor Corporation.