September 8, 1895
Adam Opel, the founder of a company that has enjoyed considerable success manufacturing two modes of transportation, died at age of 58 in the city of Rüsselsheim am Main in what was then the German Empire (now part of the Federal Republic of Germany).
In 1862, Opel went into business for himself in in Rüsselsheim. He began building sewing machines and eventually launched what became the Opel Company. Opel’s sewing machine enterprise flourished and by the mid-1880s he had added a new product to his manufacturing operations. This took place after a trip to Paris. While visiting this city, Opel became intrigued by all of the high-wheeled bicycles he saw traveling on the streets there. Opel subsequently built his own model.
Initially, however, Opel found himself exasperated with the bicycles he was creating and their potential dangers. He was ready to give up manufacturing bicycles altogether but changed his mind when he realized that there was a huge public demand for them. He soon found the sales of those bicycles exceeding the profits for his sewing machines.
By the end of 1887, the Opel Company was not only manufacturing high-wheeled bicycles but also low-wheeled and three-wheeled types. Opel enjoyed great success with the bicycles, with a yearly average of 2,000 being sold by the time of his death. (The company stopped producing sewing machines in 1911.)
By 1923, the Opel Company had become the world’s largest manufacturer of bicycles. The company ultimately manufactured 2.6 million bicycles altogether, with the last one rolling off the assembly line in 1937. Opel’s business has since focused on automobiles, which the company started to manufacture only about three years after his death. This company is now a subsidiary of Stellantis N.V., a French-Italian-American manufacturing corporation.
Image Credit: Public Domain
For more information on Adam Opel, please check out https://www.onthisday.com/people/adam-opel
Transportation History 
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