Studebaker family

Studebaker family

U.S. automobile manufacturers whose firm became the world's largest producer of horse-drawn vehicles and a leader in automobile manufacturing. In 1852 Clement Studebaker (1831–1901) started a blacksmith and wagon shop in South Bend, Ind., with his brother Henry (1826–1895). Later joined by their brothers John, Peter, and Jacob, the family business supplied vehicles to the U.S. government during the American Civil War and later helped outfit settlers moving west. By 1902 the company had built its first electric cars and, by 1904, gasoline-powered cars. In 1954 the Studebaker Corp. merged with the Packard Motor Car Co.; in 1966 it ceased production.