Arthur Martin Graffis

Arthur Martin Graffis ("Mike")(October 13, 1885 in Logansport, Indiana – November 4, 1933) was an automotive engineer, serving as Chief Engineer of Auburn Automobile (1915–1922) and as Chief Engineer (1922–1932) and Interim President (1930) of Elcar Automotive. During Elcar’s bankruptcy, A. M. Graffis (“Mike”) was appointed court trustee of Elcar’s assets. He led a two-year battle (1931–33) to attract investors and save the company, but was killed in an automobile accident.[1] The company was dissolved shortly thereafter.[2]

Family

Arthur Graffis came from a prominent family of engineers. His grandfather, Abraham Graffis, built most of the covered bridges in Cass County, Indiana, and had substantial land holdings around Logansport. His father, William Graffis, was an influential businessman, founder of Graffis & Sons Shoe Company, and an organizer of the Logansport State Bank.

Through his grandmother, Elizabeth Thornton Graffis, he was a member of the influential Thornton family of Logansport, Indiana. His grandmother was a sister of prominent lawyer Henry Clay Thornton, father of Sir Henry Worth Thornton; Dr. William Patton Thornton, a prominent Cincinnati physician; and Dr. Joseph Lyle Thornton, a prominent educator and Past-President of the Ohio Valley Paper Company. Judge William Wheeler Thornton, academic Helen Thornton Geer, socialite James Worth Thornton, and silver screen actress Edna Goodrich were cousins.

Arthur M. Graffis was married to Kate Moores[3] and had three sons: Arthur Jr., William, and Harry.

Notes
  1. “Fatally Injured in Crash: Arthur Graffis Dies on Way to Hospital,” The Logansport Press, Nov. 5, 1933, page 1
  2. Locke, William S. Elcar and Pratt Automobiles: The Complete History. 2000, page 316
  3. Wedding Announcements: “Moores-Graffis,” Logansport Daily Reporter, June 4, 1910
gollark: > Feeding and maintaining human slaves costs a lot more than running an autonomous robot that only requires electronic energy, which is easily harvested by solar panelsBut it doesn't require electricity only, it requires parts to be replaced.
gollark: I mean, you can't effectively use slaves for anything beyond menial labour, because then they need to do thinking and have some autonomy and actually receive stuff beyond bare necessities.
gollark: Although many tasks don't need generalized robots as much as big motors or something.
gollark: On the other hand, modern robot-y systems need microprocessors, which are stupidly expensive and hard to make, and humans wouldn't.
gollark: Currently they mostly can't, although the tech *is* improving and the logistics of supplying electricity and spare parts might be better than having to deal with food and everything else.
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