Monday 11th May 1863

Born on this day, James Ward Packard, an American automobile manufacturer. Packard attended Lehigh University and with his brother founded Packard Electric Company 1890, manufacturing incandescent carbon arc lamps. The first Packard automobile was released in 1899. In 1900, the company incorporated as the Ohio Automobile Company and was renamed the Packard Motor Car Company in 1902. The company relocated to Detroit in 1903. The company eventually merged with the Studebaker Corporation in 1954, and the last Packard was made in 1958.