Signius Wilhelm Poul Knudsen was 21-years-old when he left his native Copenhagen, Denmark for the U.S., and his part of the American dream.
In 1920, he settled in Buffalo.
Knudsen went by William and quickly worked on his craft as a mechanic, working first at legendary Buffalo auto-maker, Pierce Arrow.
Knudsen then took his talents to the John R. Keim Company, a bicycle and auto parts maker.
His skills grew, as did his reputation. Buffalo Pierce Arrow Museum founder Jim Sandoro says that caught the attention of one of the biggest names in auto-making. "He loved Buffalo, he raised his family here and the only reason he left is because Henry Ford bought the Keim Company which was making parts for Ford and Dodge Brothers, he actually bought the company to get Knudson to move to Detroit.”
Knudsen spent 10 years at Ford, becoming an expert on mass production and a skilled manager, skilled enough that he was quickly hired by General Motors and quickly rose in the ranks. In three years he became President of the Chevy division, and ultimately the president of General Motors until his adopted homeland came calling.
In 1940, he was appointed as Chairman of the Office of Production Management and member of the National Defense Advisory Commission.
In 1942, when the U.S. entered World War II, Knudsen received a commission as a Lieutenant General in the U.S. Army, the only civilian ever to join the Army at such a high initial rank. He oversaw the biggest production job in history, from aircraft, to ships, to ground vehicles. It was said that America won the war on the production lines.
We still have a legacy of William Knudsen here, in the form of the GM plant in Tonawanda, which was built, in addition to the old plant on Delavan Avenue, under the direction of Knudsen, who is still keeping the production lines moving in the Unknown Stories of WNY.