Ole Evinrude

Ole Evinrude, born Ole Evenrudstuen (April 19, 1877—July 12, 1934) was a Norwegian-American inventor, known for the invention of the first outboard motor with practical commercial application.

Biography

Ole Andreassen Aaslundeie was born in Vardal (now Gjøvik), in Oppland, Norway. The Evinrude surname, which he adopted in the United States, came from the Evenrud farm in Vestre Toten, where his mother was born. In October 1881 his father emigrated to America, followed the next year by his wife and three children. Three additional children were born in America. The family settled on a farm in Ripley Lake near Cambridge, Wisconsin. At age sixteen Evinrude went to Madison, where he worked in machinery stores and studied engineering on his own. He became a machinist while working at various machine tool firms in Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, and Chicago.

In 1900, Evinrude co-founded the custom engine firm Clemick & Evinrude. In 1907, he invented the first practical and reliable outboard motor, which was built of steel and brass, and had a crank on the flywheel to start the two-cycle engine. In 1907 he had built his first gasoline-powered outboard motor, and two years later, Evinrude Motor Company was founded in Milwaukee. The simplest type of engine the company produced was a 2-stroke internal combustion engine that was powered by a gas mixture of gasoline and oil.

Evinrude reported that his invention was inspired by rowing a boat...
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