Education
Vincent studied engineering in his spare time from a course offered by International Correspondence Schools.
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Jesse Gurney Vincent
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Famed initially for his design of the World War I Liberty aircraft engine, he rose to enduring prominence as the longtime chief engineer for Packard automobiles. Born in Charleston, Arkansas on February 10, 1880, Vincent came from a promising lineage for his chosen career. Vincent established himself with "a thick portfolio of patents" at the Burroughs Adding Machine Company in Detroit before moving on to become acting chief engineer for the Hudson Motor Carolina Company late in 1910.
He joined Packard on July 29, 1912 and began his rise there.
World War I briefly affected-but did not interrupt-his career. Collaborating with Elbert J. Hall of the Hall-Scott Motor Company, the pair designed the V-12 Liberty powerplant for the Army Air Force in just five days.
The effort, however, was late in the war and only a fraction of the engines ended up in military aircraft. By the time of the Armistice with Germany various companies had produced 13,574 Liberty engines.
Including those made to fulfill wartime contracts a total of 20,478 were built between July 4, 1917 and 1919.
The result was a huge surplus of Libertys, sold at steep discount to private buyers. Many ended up converted to marine use in high-end recreational speedboats and championship racers, an avocation Vincent became a prime player in. Delivered to "Colonel Vincent" just in time for the race, it was the first boat to sport the soon to become iconic Chris-Craft moniker.
Vincent remained as Packard"s head of engineering until his retirement in 1946, leaving an imprint on virtually every Packard produced since World War I. He is immortalized as "America’s Master Motor Builder" on a State of Michigan marker honoring the vast Packard Proving Grounds, the first facility for testing automobile and engine performance in the United States. He died in 1962, having regrettably seen the demise of Packard four years earlier.
Achievements
Membership
One of the earliest members of the Society of Automotive Engineers, Vincent rose to president of that organization and was subsequently elected by it to the Automotive Hall of Fame.
