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On January 13, 1920, Ilion 1891 alumnus, Harry H. Bassett, was named Buick's chief officer. He was also appointed as a Vice-President of General Motors. He was forty-four years old when he was appointed. At Buick, he built sales to the top of the industry. Buick's output in 1916, before Bassett joined, was only 43,946 cars. By 1920, production reached 115,927 cars. In 1926, production reached more than 260,000 units. Buick prospered, during the Roaring '20s, under the leadership of Harry H. Bassett. He was born in Utica, New York, on September 11, 1875. He was the son of William L. and Mary (Babcock) Bassett and graduated from Ilion High School in 1891. The Ilion Citizen featured Mr. Bassett in an article titled "MAN ABOUT THE COUNTY, MATRIMONIAL WAVE SWEEPING OVER VILLAGE OF ILION", on September 23, 1909. "Another event in the matrimonial world in which a former Ilionite will play an important part is the marriage at Flint, Michigan, September 29th, of Harry Bassett, manager of the Weston-Mott plant in that city to Miss Nina Cole, one of Flint's fairest daughters. The groom-to-be was, for a number of years, connected with the office force of the Remington Arms Company, and besides being very successful in the work of that great manufacturing plant, he was decidedly popular with the fair sex of the Mohawk Valley. The western lady who has captured "Handsome Harry" is to be congratulated in her choice of a life partner. He is the prince of good fellows and his legion of friends in this neck of the woods send heartiest greetings and best wishes." Mr. Bassett died, from bronchial pneumonia, at the young age of 50, in Paris, in 1926. Discover more about another prominent IHS Roaring Twenties 1924 alumnus - Marion Clayton Link. Use the Musical Patrons Form if you are interested in supporting the production of this year's Roaring Twenties musical, "Good News!".
Harry H. Bassett related links Automotive Industries, Volume 55 - Industry Mourns Death of H. H. Bennett The Buick: A Complete History - Google Books Automotive Giants of America - Amazon.com History of Genesee county Michigan; - her people, industries and institutions, with biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of many of the old families by Edwin Orin Wood on ebooksread.com |
![]() ![]() Created and maintained by Aileen Carney Sweeney Class of 1974, Ilion, New York Updated July 23, 2001 Published January 18, 2006 Digital Image Copyright & Copyright © 1997 - 2021 Aileen Carney Sweeney |