Background
Packard, James Ward was born on November 5, 1863 in Warren, Ohio, United States. Son of Warren and Mary E. (Doud) Packard.
Packard, James Ward was born on November 5, 1863 in Warren, Ohio, United States. Son of Warren and Mary E. (Doud) Packard.
James Ward Packard attended Lehigh University, enrolling in 1880 and graduating in 1884 with a degree in mechanical engineering.
Born in Warren, Ohio, to Warren and Mary Elizabeth Doud Packard. The first Packard automobile was released in 1899. In 1900, the company incorporated as the Ohio Automobile Company and was renamed the Packard Motor Carolina Company in 1902.
The company relocated to Detroit in 1903.
The company eventually merged with the Studebaker Corporation in 1954, and the last Packard was made in 1958. Following the company relocation to Detroit, the Packard brothers focused on making automotive electrical systems via the Packard Electric Company.
General Motors acquired the company in 1932, renaming it Delphi Packard Electric Systems in 1995. The company was spun off and became independent of General Motors in 1999.
Packard fell ill three years before his death and spent his last 16 months at the Cleveland Clinic Hospital.
Packard Park in Warren, Ohio is on land donated by the Packards. Packard Laboratory at Lehigh University was funded by him and completed in 1929, the year after he died.
Married Elizabeth A. Gillmer, August 1904.