Howard Earle Coffin (September 6, 1873-November 21,1937) was an American engineer and industrialist. He was one of the founders of the Hudson Motor Car Company with Roy D. Chapin. He was a charter member of The Society of Automotive Engineers and president in 1910, and as one of the "dollar-a-year men" served as chairman of the Aircraft Board which organized aircraft production and industrial mobilization during World War I. [1] He retired from the Hudson company in 1930 but acted as a consultant. He died accidentally in 1937.
Born in West Milton, Ohio, Coffin studied mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan. On graduation in 1902 he worked for the Oldsmobile Company as chief experimental engineer and later as chief engineer. [2] In 1906 he was one of the founders of Hudson Motor Car Company and became vice-president of that company. [3]
A millionaire by age 30, Coffin purchased extensive real estate in Georgia such as Sapelo Island, and Sea Island, turning it into a resort. Coffin married Matilda V. Allen of Battle Creek, Michigan in 1907. He and his wife are buried at Christ Church at St. Simons Island.