Irving Jacob Reuter

Who was Irving Jacob Reuter?

Irving Jacob Reuter was an automotive leader in the early 1900s. In 1925 he was named general manager and president of Oldsmobile after rising through the ranks at Remy Electric and then General Motors after the two companies merged in 1918.

He was from Indianapolis, Indiana, where he met and married Janet Reuter née Graham on Feb. 24, 1909.,

Irving Reuter graduated with an engineering degree in 1907 from Purdue University College of Engineering. His knowledge of the automobile industry was reflected both in managerial duties, and by the six patents he obtained. They include inventions related to such developments as an electric generator, an ignition apparatus, a system for supplying electricity, an ignition coil, a roadster rear seat, and an engine starting device.

In 1922 he was one of ten original investors in General Motors Investment Corporation. That corporation was said to have rejuvenated the finances of the automobile industry.

Mr. Reuter retired from General Motors in 1935 at the age of 50 and after retirement, he and Mrs. Reuter lived in various locations in Florida and Asheville, where they moved in 1937.

Irving Reuter died in North Carolina. He is interred at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis. Janet Reuter passed at the age of 98 in 1984.