James A. Allison

Who was James A. Allison?

James Asbury Allison was an American entrepreneur and businessman. He was the inventor of the Allison Perfection Fountain Pen and with Carl G. Fisher a founder of Prest-O-Lite, a manufacturer of automobile headlights. With Fisher, Frank H. Wheeler, and Arthur C. Newby he was a founder of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race. Allison formed the Indianapolis Speedway Team Company later known as the Allison Experimental Company, and later as the Allison Engine Company which was eventually purchased by General Motors after Allison’s death becoming the Allison Division of General Motors, a manufacturer of automotive transmissions, aircraft engines, truck engines, and other products.

Allison died of pneumonia in 1928 at the age of 56 and was buried in at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis. His Indianapolis home, Riverdale, is now part of Marian University.