Entrepreneur. He was an American businessman, who was one of the four original founders of the Harley-Davidson Motor Company, a motorcycle manufacturer founded in 1903. The company survived the cheaper-made Model-T Ford of the 1920s, the Great Depression of the 1930s and over the years, several strong competitors, remaining since 1953 the only motorcycle manufacturer in the United States in the 21st century. Born the oldest son, his father William C. Davidson was a carpenter for the Milwaukee Railroad. Bringing a wealth of experience and judgment, he had acquired management skills as a toolroom foreman for the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad Company. As a cautious married man with children, he did not leave the railroad position until 1907 to join with his brothers' business adventure. Many had attempted to build a motorized bicycle, meeting the big problem of making a motor small enough to mount on the frame of a bicycle, and if a motorized bicycle could be invented, would this new machine be produced fast enough to make a profit. His early involvement with motorcycles is documented on a 1901 blueprint showing his design. With his shy, quiet nature and his premature greying hair, he earned the nickname of "The Silent Grey Fellow." Years later, a motorcycle would take the name of "The Silent Grey Fellow". With his two brothers, Walter and Arthur, and his friend William "Bill" Harley, he built the first Harley-Davidson "factory" in a converted ten-by-fifteen-foot shed in the Davidsons' backyard, moving the factory from their parents' basement. With the three brothers holding the majority of the shares, it can only be theorized why the company was named Harley-Davidson instead of Davidson-Harley. Seeking expansion of the rapidly growing factory, the Davidson brothers' bachelor great uncle, James McLay, an 80-year-old beekeeper, loaned the company $170 to build the 2,380-square-foot shop. The company opened its first dealership in 1905. With 18 employees, the company was incorporated in 1907. By 1909 the company was making 1,149 bikes, including 27 of their trademark V-Twin engine models with a top speed of 60 miles per hour. In 1912 Harley-Davidson patented their much-recognized emblem, the Bar and Shield. While his brother Walter became famous for winning motorcycle races, he served as the behind the scenes racing engineer. By 1920 the racing motorcycle was nicknamed "The Hog," and a proven champion of speed as well as the dangerous 3-day endurance races. The three Davidson brothers and Harley became the Harley-Davidson Motor Company, and each had their specialized role in the company's success, with his being the company's Vice President and the plant manager. His open-door policy gave respect to loyal employees and gave him the hands-on concerns of the employees. This led to improving the product as well as the working conditions. Knowing the best steel, his desk would be piled high with pieces of metal parts as he directed the manufacturing methods of the company. In the 1930s, the company started making the three-wheeled Harley-Davidson Servi-Car, which was used to make deliveries, and this followed with making police motorcycles. He was known for his charity and generosity, especially during the Christmas season. He battled to keep the organized unions out of his shop, but two days after his death, the agreement to allow unions was signed. According to his obituary, he died from complications of surgery at age 66. In 1942, his son William H. Davidson would become Harley-Davidson's president as well as grandson, John, in 1973 and in various company positions, his great grandchildren in the 21st century. In 1973 the factory was moved to York, Pennsylvania but the old site remains the international headquarters of Harley-Davidson. In 1998 the Davidson brothers and Bill Harley were inducted into the American Motorcycle Hall of Fame. For making a positive contribution to how Americans work and live, he and his brothers William and Walter, along with William Harley were posthumously inducted in the Labor Hall of Fame in 2004. The made-for-television mini-series "Harley and the Davidsons" aired on the Disney Channel in 2006. Several biographies of the Harley-Davidson co-founders have been published. In the 21st century, his motorcycle business is worth over six billion dollars.
Entrepreneur. He was an American businessman, who was one of the four original founders of the Harley-Davidson Motor Company, a motorcycle manufacturer founded in 1903. The company survived the cheaper-made Model-T Ford of the 1920s, the Great Depression of the 1930s and over the years, several strong competitors, remaining since 1953 the only motorcycle manufacturer in the United States in the 21st century. Born the oldest son, his father William C. Davidson was a carpenter for the Milwaukee Railroad. Bringing a wealth of experience and judgment, he had acquired management skills as a toolroom foreman for the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad Company. As a cautious married man with children, he did not leave the railroad position until 1907 to join with his brothers' business adventure. Many had attempted to build a motorized bicycle, meeting the big problem of making a motor small enough to mount on the frame of a bicycle, and if a motorized bicycle could be invented, would this new machine be produced fast enough to make a profit. His early involvement with motorcycles is documented on a 1901 blueprint showing his design. With his shy, quiet nature and his premature greying hair, he earned the nickname of "The Silent Grey Fellow." Years later, a motorcycle would take the name of "The Silent Grey Fellow". With his two brothers, Walter and Arthur, and his friend William "Bill" Harley, he built the first Harley-Davidson "factory" in a converted ten-by-fifteen-foot shed in the Davidsons' backyard, moving the factory from their parents' basement. With the three brothers holding the majority of the shares, it can only be theorized why the company was named Harley-Davidson instead of Davidson-Harley. Seeking expansion of the rapidly growing factory, the Davidson brothers' bachelor great uncle, James McLay, an 80-year-old beekeeper, loaned the company $170 to build the 2,380-square-foot shop. The company opened its first dealership in 1905. With 18 employees, the company was incorporated in 1907. By 1909 the company was making 1,149 bikes, including 27 of their trademark V-Twin engine models with a top speed of 60 miles per hour. In 1912 Harley-Davidson patented their much-recognized emblem, the Bar and Shield. While his brother Walter became famous for winning motorcycle races, he served as the behind the scenes racing engineer. By 1920 the racing motorcycle was nicknamed "The Hog," and a proven champion of speed as well as the dangerous 3-day endurance races. The three Davidson brothers and Harley became the Harley-Davidson Motor Company, and each had their specialized role in the company's success, with his being the company's Vice President and the plant manager. His open-door policy gave respect to loyal employees and gave him the hands-on concerns of the employees. This led to improving the product as well as the working conditions. Knowing the best steel, his desk would be piled high with pieces of metal parts as he directed the manufacturing methods of the company. In the 1930s, the company started making the three-wheeled Harley-Davidson Servi-Car, which was used to make deliveries, and this followed with making police motorcycles. He was known for his charity and generosity, especially during the Christmas season. He battled to keep the organized unions out of his shop, but two days after his death, the agreement to allow unions was signed. According to his obituary, he died from complications of surgery at age 66. In 1942, his son William H. Davidson would become Harley-Davidson's president as well as grandson, John, in 1973 and in various company positions, his great grandchildren in the 21st century. In 1973 the factory was moved to York, Pennsylvania but the old site remains the international headquarters of Harley-Davidson. In 1998 the Davidson brothers and Bill Harley were inducted into the American Motorcycle Hall of Fame. For making a positive contribution to how Americans work and live, he and his brothers William and Walter, along with William Harley were posthumously inducted in the Labor Hall of Fame in 2004. The made-for-television mini-series "Harley and the Davidsons" aired on the Disney Channel in 2006. Several biographies of the Harley-Davidson co-founders have been published. In the 21st century, his motorcycle business is worth over six billion dollars.
Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/3496/william_a-davidson: accessed
), memorial page for William A. Davidson (14 Oct 1870–21 Apr 1937), Find a Grave Memorial ID 3496, citing Forest Home Cemetery, Milwaukee,
Milwaukee County,
Wisconsin,
USA;
Maintained by Find a Grave.
Add Photos for William A. Davidson
Fulfill Photo Request for William A. Davidson
Photo Request Fulfilled
Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request
There is an open photo request for this memorial
Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request?
Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s).
Oops, something didn't work. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again.
Make sure that the file is a photo. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced.
All photos uploaded successfully, click on the <b>Done button</b> to see the photos in the gallery.
General photo guidelines:
Photos larger than 8.0 MB will be optimized and reduced.
Each contributor can upload a maximum of 5 photos for a memorial.
A memorial can have a maximum of 20 photos from all contributors.
The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional 10 photos (for a total of 30 on the memorial).
Include gps location with grave photos where possible.
No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments.)
This memorial already has a grave photo. Please indicate why you think it needs another.
There is no plot information for this memorial. Your photo request is more likely to be fulfilled if you contact the cemetery to get the plot information and include it with your request.
You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial.
Memorial Photos
This is a carousel with slides. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel.
Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried.
Show Map
If the memorial includes GPS coordinates, simply click 'Show Map' to view the gravesite location within the cemetery. If no GPS coordinates are available, you can contribute by adding them if you know the precise location.
Photos
For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab.
Photos Tab
All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer.
Flowers
Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button.
Family Members
Family members linked to this person will appear here.
Related searches
Use the links under See more… to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc.
Sponsor This Memorial
Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option.
Share
Share this memorial using social media sites or email.
Save to
Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print.
Edit or Suggest Edit
Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager.
Have Feedback
Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you.
You may not upload any more photos to this memorial
"Unsupported file type"
Uploading...
Waiting...
Success
Failed
This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has photos
This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded photos to this memorial
This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has photos
This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded photos to this memorial
Invalid File Type
Uploading 1 Photo
Uploading 2 Photos
1 Photo Uploaded
2 Photos Uploaded
Added by
GREAT NEWS! There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery.
Sorry! There are no volunteers for this cemetery. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request.
Enter numeric value
Enter memorial Id
Year should not be greater than current year
Invalid memorial
Duplicate entry for memorial
You have chosen this person to be their own family member.
Reported!
This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates.
0% Complete
Saved
Sign in or Register
Sign in to Find a Grave
Sign-in to link to existing account
There is a problem with your email/password.
There is a problem with your email/password.
There is a problem with your email/password.
We encountered an unknown problem. Please wait a few minutes and try again. If the problem persists contact Find a Grave.
We’ve updated the security on the site. Please reset your password.
Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. Please contact Find a Grave at [email protected] if you need help resetting your password.
This account has been disabled. If you have questions, please contact [email protected]
This account has been disabled. If you have questions, please contact [email protected]
Email not found
Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person.
Sign in to your existing Find a Grave account. You’ll only have to do this once—after your accounts are connected, you can sign in using your Ancestry sign in or your Find a Grave sign in.
We found an existing Find a Grave account associated with your email address. Sign in below with your Find a Grave credentials to link your Ancestry account. After your accounts are connected you can sign in using either account.
Please enter your email to sign in.
Please enter your password to sign in.
Please enter your email and password to sign in.
There is a problem with your email/password.
A system error has occurred. Please try again later.
A password reset email has been sent to EmailID. If you don't see an email, please check your spam folder.
We encountered an unknown problem. Please wait a few minutes and try again. If the problem persists contact Find a Grave.
Password Reset
Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code.
Registration Options
Welcome to Find a Grave
Create your free account by choosing an option below.
or
Ancestry account link
To create your account, Ancestry will share your name and email address with Find a Grave. To continue choose an option below.
or
If you already have a Find a Grave account, please sign in to link to Ancestry®.
New Member Registration
Email is mandatory
Email and Password are mandatory
This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. Resend Activation Email
Your password is not strong enough
Invalid Email
You must agree to Terms and Conditions
Account already exists
Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox
Internal Server error occurred
If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map
You must select an email preference
We have sent you an activation email
Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters.
We just emailed an activation code to
Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account.
cemeteries found in will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
Within 5 miles of your location.
Within 5 kilometers of your location.
0 cemeteries found in .
0 cemeteries found.
Add a cemetery to fulfill photo requests
You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below.
Search above to list available cemeteries.
Getting location…
Loading...
Loading...
No cemeteries found
Find a Grave Video Tutorials
Default Language
Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [email protected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. Thanks for your help!
Preferred Language
We have set your language to based on information from your browser.