General Motors was founded in Flint, Michigan, by the entrepreneur William C. Durant, who had built up the Buick company and wanted to bring together several carmakers as a single holding company. Over the next few years it acquired Oldsmobile, Cadillac and others, and Chevrolet joined later. Under Alfred Sloan, who led the company from the 1920s, it developed a system of different brands for different price levels and became the largest car manufacturer in the world, a position it held for decades. GM went through bankruptcy and a government-backed restructuring in 2009, and it is now investing in electric and autonomous vehicles. Its headquarters are in Detroit.
Before and after
- 7 August 1908Discovery of Venus of Willendorf
- 12 August 1908Ford Model T
- 25 August 1908Death of Antoine Henri Becquerel
- 27 August 1908Birth of Lyndon B. Johnson
- 16 September 1908Founding of General Motors
- 16 October 1908Birth of Enver Hoxha
- 28 November 1908Birth of Claude Lévi-Strauss
- 28 December 19081908 Messina earthquake
- 1909Rise of Futurism
More in Society, economy & sport
- 25 March 1807Britain abolishes the slave trade
- from 10 June 1815 to 24 August 1866Founding of German Confederation
- from 19 July 1848 to 20 July 1848The Seneca Falls Convention
- 14 September 1867Karl Marx publishes Das Kapital
- 1874Founding of Universal Postal Union
- 29 November 1899Founding of FC Barcelona
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.