James A. Allison

James Asbury Allison (Marcellus, Michigan, 11 August 1872 – Indianapolis, Indiana, 3 August 1928) 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 (Allison Transmission), aircraft engines (Allison Engine Company), 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.

James Allison moved to Indianapolis with his parents, Noah and Myra, in 1880. He left school and joined his father's business, Allison Coupon Company, at age 12 in 1884. Just six years later, with the untimely death of his father, James assumed the vice-presidency of the company at age 18 in 1890. Allison Coupon Company still exists today as Allison Payment Systems. During the 1890s Allison became intrigued by the bicycle craze that was sweeping the nation. He joined the Indianapolis-based bicycle "Zig-Zag Club," where he met future business partners Carl G. Fisher and Arthur C. Newby. Fisher and Allison would remain confidants the rest of their lives.

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