Elwood Haynes (1857–1925) was an American inventor, metallurgist, automotive pioneer, entrepreneur and industrialist. He invented the metal alloys stellite and martensitic stainless steel and designed one of the earliest automobiles in the United States. His design is recognized as the first that was acceptable for mass production and, with the Apperson brothers, he formed the first company in the United States to profitably produce automobiles. Because of his many advances in the automotive industry, he is sometimes called the Father of the Automobile. His frequent travels drew his interest to the idea of a mechanical device that could transport without need of a horse, and he began to formulate plans for a motorized vehicle in the early 1890s; he successfully road tested his first car, the Pioneer, on July 4, 1894. He formed a partnership with Elmer and Edgar Apperson in 1896 to start Haynes-Apperson for the commercial production of automobiles, and he renamed it Haynes Automobile Company in 1905, following the loss of his partners. He formed Haynes Stellite Company to produce one of the new alloys he invented and received lucrative contracts during World War I, making Haynes a millionaire in 1916. After his death from complications arising from influenza, his Kokomo mansion was converted into the Elwood Haynes Museum and is open to the public where many of his original inventions and automobiles are on display.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elwood_Haynes

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1598:

Boris Godunov became the first non-Rurikid Tsar of Russia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Godunov

1610:

Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei first observed three of Jupiter's moons through his telescope: Io, Europa, and Callisto. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Io_%28moon%29

1797:

The first official Italian tricolour was adopted by the government of the Cispadane Republic. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Italy

1924:

The International Hockey Federation, the global governing body for field hockey, was founded in Paris in response to the sport's omission from the 1924 Summer Olympics. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Hockey_Federation

1975:

The National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women was established to promote empowerment and gender equality for the women in the Philippines. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_the_Philippines

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

smudge (v): 1. To obscure by blurring; to smear. 2. To soil or smear with dirt. 3. To use dense smoke to protect from insects http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/smudge

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

There are years that ask questions and years that answer. --Zora Neale Hurston http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Zora_Neale_Hurston