Charles Stewart Mott*

Charles Mott was born in 1875 in Newark, New Jersey. He wore clothes his mother made for him out of his father's old suits. To support himself while studying at the Stevens Institute of Technology, he made and installed soda-water carbonating machines. He graduated in 1897 with a mechanical engineering degree.

During the 1898 Spanish-American War, he served as a gunner's mate on the USS Yankee. In 1900 after the death of his father, Mott became superintendent of a small, unprofitable firm that made bicycle wire wheels, the Weston-Mott Company. Under his direction, the company shifted to axle-making and moved from Utica, New York, to Flint, Michigan.

The company went on to become the world's largest axle company, merged with Buick Motor Company, and became the original U.S. partner in creating the General Motors Corporation. Mott served as director of GM in 1913 and was vice president from 1916 to 1937. Over the course of 60 years, he remained in leadership roles including serving on the GM Board of Directors.

Mott was mayor of Flint for three terms and formed the C. S. Mott Foundation, which achieved fame for pioneering the community college concept.