Ransom Eli Olds (June 3, 1864–August 26, 1950) was a pioneer of American automobile industry. He claimed to have built his first steam car as early as 1894 and his first petrol car in 1896.
He founded the Olds Motor Vehicle Company in Lansing, Michigan in 1897. The company was bought by a copper and lumber magnate named S. L. Smith in 1899 and helped financing an immortal model named Curved Dash which appeared in 1901. Ransom E. Olds left his company in 1904 and went on to form the REO Motor Company, using the initials of his name as an acronym. The Olds company was bought by General Motors in 1908 and formed the basis of the Oldsmobile.
Thereafter, Ransom E. Olds had nothing to do with General Motors; he served as president (until 1925) and later chairman of REO. The Oldsmobile brand, after a successful production run of 99 years, was discontinued by General Motors in 2004.
In 1913, Olds purchased 37,541 acres (152 km²) of land by the northern part of Tampa Bay in Florida and developed the area into what is now the city of Oldsmar.
Interstate 496 in Lansing, Michigan is named after him.
