Powel Crosley Jr. was born on September 18, 1886 in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. He was the son of Powel Crosley, a prominent local attorney, and Charlotte W. Utz. Taking only odd jobs, he claimed he never earned more than $20 a week until he was thirty years old.
He graduated from College Hill Public School in 1901 and the Ohio Military Institute four years later. At the University of Cincinnati he studied engineering (1906) and law (1906 - 1907), but he never received a degree.
Crosley's father, who regarded autos as a passing fancy, bet him $10 that he could not build a car that would run from Cincinnati's Presbyterian church to the Post Office. Crosley won the money with a contraption that attained a speed of five miles an hour. He later worked as a chauffeur to learn more about automobiles.
In 1907 he entered manufacturing. Borrowing $10, 000, he organized a company to produce the Marathon Six, an inexpensive six-cylinder automobile. He planned to sell it for $300 less than other cars on the market. But the panic of 1907 cut short his plans. Crosley tried twice more to produce automobiles, but both efforts failed. He finally succeeded in 1916 when he established a mail-order business, the American Automobile Accessory Company, that marketed various gadgets, mostly of Crosley's invention. Within two years, Crosley bought out his partner, and the company boasted a $2 million-a-year business.
Crosley was astounded at the high prices. He then bought some diagrams, crystal-set parts, and began experimenting. He soon began manufacturing cheap tubes and parts and, with the help of two university engineering students, designed a cheap radio receiver that could be marketed for less than $20. They produced the Harko, Jr. , a crystal set powered by a flashlight battery, and the Harko, Sr. , a vacuum tube set.
Crosley began operating Station WLW, Cincinnati. When demand for his receivers began to decline, Crosley added refrigerators and other electrical appliances to his line of products. His success with the Shelvador refrigerator (with shelves on the door) resulted from competitive marketing; it sold for $50 less than other models. The company also produced air-conditioning equipment, a scalp exerciser, and a portable refrigerator. All were priced for the mass market.
In June 1945 he sold most of his interests in the Crosley Corporation--including the manufacturing plant and WLW--to the Aviation Corporation (AVCO). But he maintained control of his automobile company and devoted himself to producing a low-cost compact car. By 1947 he had a station wagon, a truck, and a sports car on the market. His goal was to produce the first $500 car; but production never reached beyond 28, 000 a year and the price never dipped below $800. In 1952 he sold his automobile interests, and the Crosley, one of the nation's first compact cars, soon passed from the scene. In 1934 Crosley had invested in the Cincinnati Reds baseball team, becoming president of the organization. In 1936 he bought the controlling interest. In his will, he left the ownership of the franchise to a charitable foundation under his family's direction--with the proviso that the Reds must remain in Cincinnati. Profits from the team were left to the city's charitable, scientific, and educational organizations.
Crosley died in Cincinnati.
In 1910, Crosley married Gwendolyn Badewell Aiken. They had two children. Crosley's first wife died in 1939. He married Marrianne Richards in 1943, but they were divorced the following year. In 1952 he married Eva Brokaw. After her death in 1955, he married Charlotte K. Wilson in 1956. They were divorced in 1960.
