Walter Chrysler

Walter Percy Chrysler (April 2, 1875 – August 18, 1940) was an American machinist, railroad man, automotive industry executive, and founder of the Chrysler Corporation. He was born in Wamego, Kansas and grew up in Ellis, Kansas. He also had a love for animals at a very young age. Chrysler apprenticed in the railroad shops at Ellis as a machinist and railroad mechanic. He then spent a period of years roaming the west, working for various railroads... more

Walter Percy Chrysler (April 2, 1875 – August 18, 1940) was an American machinist, railroad man, automotive industry executive, and founder of the Chrysler Corporation. He was born in Wamego, Kansas and grew up in Ellis, Kansas. He also had a love for animals at a very young age. Chrysler apprenticed in the railroad shops at Ellis as a machinist and railroad mechanic. He then spent a period of years roaming the west, working for various railroads as a roundhouse mechanic with a reputation of being good at valve-setting jobs. Some of his moves were due to restlessness and a too-quick temper, but his roaming was also a way to become more well-rounded in his railroad knowledge. He worked his way up through positions such as foreman, superintendent, division master mechanic, and general master mechanic. From 1905-1906, Chrysler worked for the Fort Worth and Denver Railway in Childress, a West Texas city considered the "Gateway to the Texas Panhandle." He later lived and worked in Oelwein,... less