Soichiro Honda facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Soichiro Honda
本田 宗一郎 Senior Third Rank
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| Born | 17 November 1906 Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan
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| Died | 5 August 1991 (aged 84) |
| Occupation | Engineering |
| Known for | Founder of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. |
| Spouse(s) | Sachi Honda (1914–2013) |
| Children | Hirotoshi Honda, Yasuhiro Watanabe |
| Parent(s) | Gihei Honda (Father) Mika Honda (Mother) |
Soichiro Honda (born November 17, 1906 – died August 5, 1991) was a Japanese engineer and a very successful businessman. He is famous for starting Honda Motor Co., Ltd. in 1948. He helped the company grow from a small workshop making bicycle engines into a huge international company that builds cars and motorcycles.
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Soichiro Honda's Early Life
Soichiro Honda was born on November 17, 1906, in a village near Hamamatsu, Japan. As a child, he helped his father, Gihei Honda, who was a blacksmith and repaired bicycles. His mother, Mika Honda, was a weaver.
Soichiro was not very interested in school. When his school gave out report cards, parents had to stamp them with their family seal. Soichiro made a fake stamp from a bicycle pedal cover to trick his parents. This trick was found out when he made stamps for other kids. He didn't know that stamps needed to be mirror images. His own family name, 本田 (Honda), looked the same when written vertically, so his stamp worked. But other kids' names were not symmetrical, and their fake stamps looked wrong.
Even when he was very young, Soichiro loved machines. He was excited by the first car he ever saw in his village. He often said he could never forget the smell of its oil, calling it "perfume." Once, he borrowed his father's bicycle to watch a pilot named Art Smith fly an airplane. This event made him love machines and inventing even more.
Leaving Home and Starting Work
At 15, Soichiro left home and went to Tokyo to find work, even though he didn't have much formal education. In 1922, he got a job as an apprentice at a garage. He worked there for six years as a car mechanic.
In 1928, at age 22, he returned home and started his own car repair business. Soichiro also loved car racing. In 1936, he raced a special Ford car in the "1st Japan Automobile Race." He crashed and hurt his left eye badly. His brother was also injured. After this accident, he stopped racing.
How Honda Motor Company Grew
In 1937, Soichiro Honda started a company called Tōkai Seiki. This company made piston rings for Toyota. During World War II, one of Tōkai Seiki's factories was destroyed by a US bomber attack in 1944. Another factory collapsed in an earthquake in 1945.
After the war, Honda sold what was left of his company to Toyota. He used that money to start the Honda Technical Research Institute in October 1946. In 1948, he began making a complete motorized bicycle called the Type A. It had the first engine designed by Honda that was made in large numbers. This model was sold until 1951.
In 1949, Honda made the Type D, which was a real motorcycle. It had a special steel frame and a small, powerful engine. This became the first model in the famous Dream series of motorcycles. Both the Type A and Type D are recognized as important milestones in Japanese car technology.
After the war, Soichiro reconnected with his friend Takeo Fujisawa. In 1949, Honda hired Fujisawa to manage the company's money. Fujisawa helped the company grow a lot. In 1959, Honda Motorcycles opened its first store in the United States.
As the president of Honda Motor Company, Soichiro Honda turned it into a huge international business. It became known for making the best-selling motorcycles in the world. Honda's great engineering and marketing skills helped Honda motorcycles sell more than famous brands like Triumph and Harley-Davidson in their own countries.
Soichiro Honda was president until he retired in 1973. He continued to be a director and was named "supreme advisor" in 1983. He was so well-known that People magazine called him "the Japanese Henry Ford" in 1980. After retiring, Honda worked with the Honda Foundation.
Soichiro Honda's Later Years
Even when he was older, Soichiro and his wife Sachi both had private pilot's licenses. He loved skiing, golf, racing cars, hang gliding, and ballooning even at 77 years old. He was also a very talented artist.
Soichiro and Takeo Fujisawa made a promise that they would never force their sons to join the company. Soichiro's son, Hirotoshi Honda, later started his own company called Mugen Motorsports. This company makes special parts for Honda vehicles and also creates original racing cars.
In 1982, the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) created the Soichiro Honda Medal. This award celebrates great achievements in personal transportation engineering. In 1989, he was honored by being added to the Automotive Hall of Fame in Detroit.
Soichiro Honda passed away on August 5, 1991, at the age of 84. He died just before the Hungarian Grand Prix car race. Ayrton Senna, who won that race, dedicated his victory to Soichiro Honda. After his death, Soichiro was given special honors in Japan.
Honors and Awards
Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (1978)
Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (posthumous, 1991)- Senior Third Rank (posthumous, 1991)
Golden Pheasant Award of the Scout Association of Japan (1991)
Images for kids
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A robot, representing innovation
