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Soichiro Honda with the 1963 Honda RA270F prototype Formula one car. Author Roderick Eime.

Top 10 Outstanding Facts About Soichiro Honda

Honda was born in the year 1906 on November 17th in K艒my艒 village. It is in Iwata District, Shizuoka, near Hamamatsu.

When he was young, he spent his life helping his father, Gihei Honda who was a blacksmith in his bicycle repair business. At this time his mother, Mika Honda, was a weaver.

He was an engineer and also an industrialist. In 1948, he started the Honda Motor Co., Ltd. He oversaw the growth of this company from a manufacturing moto bicycle to one of the biggest multinational automobile and motorcycle manufacturers.

Here are the top 10 outstanding facts about Soichiro Honda.

1. Honda Forged Stamps when He was a Child

When he was young, he was not interested in traditional education in Japan. But the school he attended handed grade reports at the end of each term to the children, but they were required to return the report with a stamp containing the family seal.

These restrictions were to make sure that the report had been seen by the parents. Due to Honda’s negative attitude toward the education system he to created a stamp by forging his family seal.

He used a rubber bicycle pedal cover. However, this fraud did not last for long before it was discovered.

It was known when he started helping other children to make forged stamps. Soichiro’s stamp was discovered because he was not aware that the stamp had to be mirror-imaged.

Honda  never realized this because his family name was symmetrical. When written vertically never caused any problem, but the other children鈥檚 family names were different.

2. He was Thrilled by the First Car He Saw in His Village

When he was a young boy, Honda was thrilled by the first car he saw in his village. But later in life, he said that he had never forgotten the smell of oil the car gave off. Soichiro cemented his love for machinery and inventions when he demonstrated as an aeroplane pilot with his father鈥檚 bicycle.

3. Soichiro Searched For his First Job at the Age of 15

At the age of 15,  Honda headed to Tokyo in search of a job even without any formal education. But he got one at a garage in the year 1922. After six years of working as a mechanic, Soichiro decided to return home and started his own auto repair business at the age of 22 in  1928.

4. He Participated in a Japan Race in 1936

In 1936,  Honda participated in a race where he raced with a turbocharged Ford which was the Japanese first Automobile Race. It took place in Tamagawa Speedway.

However, during the race, Soichiro  got into an accident. Honda was seriously injured in his left eye. Also, his brother who had accompanied him got injured and that incident marked the end of racing for him.

5. Soichiro was the Founder of Tokai Seiki

In the year 1937, Honda was the pioneer founder of the T艒kai Seiki. It produced piston rings for Toyota. During the Us B-29 bomber attack in the second World War, T艒kai Seiki was destroyed in the year 1944.

When world war two ended, Honda decided to sell the remains of the company to Toyota for 楼450,000. He used the money to start the Honda Technical Research Institute in October 1946.

6. Honda Produced a Motorized Bicycle in 1948

Soichiro Honda with the 1963 Honda RA270F prototype Formula one car. Author Roderick Eime.

In the year 1948, he manufactured his first motorized bicycle. One of the bicycles was known as the type that used the first engine which was produced by Honda and was sold until 1951.

He also produced a Type D motorcycle in the year 1949.It was recognized as a true motorcycle because it had a pressed-steel frame designed.

The type D motorcycle had 鈥渁 2-stroke, 98 ccs (6.0 cu in) 3 hp (2.2 kW) engine.鈥� This motorcycle became the best and the first model in the series of motorcycles.

Both types, Type A and Type D were listed as the 240 landmarks of Japanese Automotive Technology by the Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan.

7. Honda Opened His First Dealership in the United States in 1956

In 1959, the Honda Motorcycles company launched its first dealership in the United States. As the president of the company, Soichiro oversaw the growth of Honda Motor Company into a billion-dollar multinational company.

The company over time produced one of the best-selling motorcycles in the world. These achievements were through Honda’s  engineering and marketing skills. Honda’s skills resulted in outselling of the motorcycles in their respective home markets and across the world.

8. He was Appointed as the Supreme Advisor of Honda motor co. Ltd

 Honda retained his position as the president until his retirement in the year 1973. After his retirement, he remained as the director where he was appointed as the 鈥渟upreme advisor鈥� in the year 1983.

In the year 1980, people magazine placed him on the 鈥�25 Most Intriguing People of the Year鈥� list, which made him known as 鈥渢he Japanese Henry Ford.鈥� In his retirement, he made himself busy with work related to the Honda Foundation.

9. Honda was Recognized by ASME in 1982

In 1982 ASME launched the Soichiro Honda Medal with its main purpose to recognize Mr Honda’s achievements. This medal recognized his outstanding achievement of Honda.

Furthermore, the most significant engineering contributions he made in the field of transportation and especially in personal transportation. In  1989, he was recognized in the Automotive Hall of Fame  which was near Detroit.

10. Soichiro Died Because of Liver Failure

On August 5th, 1991, Soichiro Honda died due to liver failure, this was  before the Hungarian Grand Prix. He was 84 years old when he died. The then winner Ayrton Senna, of the Grand Prix, decided to dedicate his victory to the late Soichiro Honda.

He is remembered all over the world as a dedicated person to his work.