William Signius Knudsen (born Signius Wilhelm Poul Knudsen; March 25, 1879 – April 27, 1948) was a Danish-American leader in the automotive industry and a U.S. Army general during World War II.
His work as a top manager at Ford Motor Company and later at General Motors made him a valuable leader. President Franklin Roosevelt’s government asked him to join the U.S. Army as a lieutenant general to help increase the production of weapons and supplies for the war.
Knudsen was the only civilian in U.S. history to be appointed to the Army at such a high rank. Under his leadership, American factories greatly increased their military production. For example, airplane production grew from about 3,000 planes in 1939 to more than 300,000 by the end of the war.
Background
Knudsen was born in Copenhagen to Knud Peter Knudsen (1837–1908), a customs officer, and his second wife, Augusta Pouline Regine Zøllner (1853–1934). He lived in his childhood home on Voldmestergade 26 in the Kartoffelrækkerne neighborhood with five siblings and six half-siblings. He attended Øster Farimagsgade School and received an apprenticeship at a bicycle shop through his half-brother. It is said that he assembled the first tandem bicycle in Denmark during this time.
Knudsen moved to the United States and arrived in New York in February 1900. While working at a Harlem River shipyard, the foreman wrote his name as "William S. Knudsen," or "Bill" for short, because the foreman did not want to write all the initials.
Career
Knudsen worked for the John R. Keim Company in Buffalo, New York, which made bicycle and car parts. In 1911, the Ford Motor Company bought the company because of its experience in making steel parts and tools.
Knudsen worked for Ford from 1911 to 1921. During this time, Ford developed the modern assembly line and began mass production of cars. He first worked at Ford and later joined General Motors in 1921. Knudsen became an expert in mass production and a skilled manager. At Ford, he was the production manager for the Highland Park Plant in Michigan.
Knudsen became president of the Chevrolet Division of General Motors from 1924 to 1937. He later served as president of General Motors from 1937 to 1940. During his time at Chevrolet, the division earned the most money of any General Motors division.
In 1940, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, with advice from Bernard Baruch, asked Knudsen to help with wartime production. Knudsen was named Chairman of the Office of Production Management and a member of the National Defense Advisory Commission. He received a salary of $1 per year for these roles.
In January 1942, Knudsen was commissioned as a lieutenant general in the U.S. Army. He was the only civilian ever to join the army at that high rank. He was also named Director of Production for the Office of the Under Secretary of War. In this role, he worked as a consultant and problem-solver for the War Department.
In both jobs, Knudsen used his experience in manufacturing and his respect in the industry to help with the largest production effort in history. Because of the need for war supplies, the production of machine tools tripled. In 1939, the U.S. military produced fewer than 3,000 airplanes. By the end of the war, the United States produced over 300,000 planes. The Boeing B-29 Superfortress greatly benefited from Knudsen’s work. Production of cargo ships and Navy ships also increased greatly. Knudsen’s efforts helped companies that had never made military equipment to enter the market. The United States produced more than its enemies. As Knudsen said, “We won because we smothered the enemy in an avalanche of production, the like of which he had never seen, nor dreamed possible.”
Knudsen was appointed Director of the Air Technical Service Command when it was created in July 1944 at Patterson Field, Ohio. He served in the Army until he resigned on June 1, 1945.
Personal life
On November 1, 1911, Knudsen married Clara Elisabeth Euler in Buffalo. They had three daughters named Clara, Martha, and Elna, and one son named Semon "Bunkie" Knudsen, who later became an important leader in the automobile industry.
Knudsen appeared on the cover of Time magazine's October 7, 1940 issue. He was a member of Epiphany Lutheran Church (Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod) in Detroit. He helped support many projects for the synod in the Detroit area, including the construction of buildings for Epiphany Lutheran Church, Outer Drive Faith Lutheran Church, and the Evangelical Lutheran Institute for the Deaf.
Honors and awards
Knudsen received the Vermilye Medal from the Franklin Institute in 1941.
In 1930, he was named a Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog by the Kingdom of Denmark. In 1946, he was given the title of Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog.
Knudsen was placed into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1968.
His daughter created a scholarship in honor of her parents.
Knudsen was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal twice, in 1944 and 1945, for his work in the US Army during World War II. He also received the American Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal for his service during the war.