The Founders
William Harley
Born on December 29th in 1880, William Sylvester Harley’s parents came to the United States in 1860 from England. After enlisting in the army in 1864, William Harley’s father, also named William, served with the New York Heavy Artillery. Once discharged, he and his second wife, Mary, moved to Wisconsin, where William found work as a railroad engineer.
While growing up in Wisconsin, William met another boy by the name of Arthur Davidson. From this friendship grew what is now one of the most recognized motorcycle brands in the world.
Arthur Davidson
Arthur Davidson, along with William Harley, first began tinkering with the then-new gasoline engines, hoping to take the hard work out of pedaling a bicycle. Soon, Arthur got his brothers involved in the hobby that ultimately turned into a major manufacturing enterprise. Arthur was the driving force in setting up the nation-wide dealer network for Harley-Davidson in the company’s early years. Davidson was successful not only in establishing Harley-Davidson dealerships across the United States, but also in many countries around the globe.
Walter Davidson
Along with his brothers, William and Arthur, and friend William Harley, Walter Davidson, Sr., was one of the founders of Harley-Davidson and was the company’s first president. Walter gave the company its first major racing victory by earning a diamond medal in the F.A.M. New York endurance run in 1908. That performance gave Harley-Davidson a great boost in name recognition and was a major selling point for the young company.
William Davidson
William Davidson took a big risk by quitting his well paying job with the Milwaukee Road railroad and purchasing the machining tools and presses that helped the young company meet the expanding demand for motorcycles. The company that William, his brothers Arthur and Walter, and William Harley, started in 1903, would go on to become one of the most popular motorcycle makers in the world.