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Soichiro Honda

Japanese engineer and industrialist · Japan · Scientists · Lived 1906 to 1991 · aged 84

Soichiro Honda is read about 854 times a day, in 47 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 6 October 2026

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He started in a wooden shack bolting small engines to bicycles and died presiding over one of the world's largest automakers - a mechanical tinkerer who refused to stay small.

ExecutivesBusiness ProfessionalEntrepreneurshipJapanAsia20th Century

A life in dates

1991Died5 August 1991James Watt International MedalAward1989“Many people dream of success. To me success can only be achieved through repeated failure and introspection.”In their wordsAs quoted in What Creates Jobs? (1989) by Paul Callister; also quoted in The Speed of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything (2008)

1980ASME MedalAwardHolley MedalAwardHonorary Doctor of the Paul Cézanne UniversityAward1906Born17 November 1906

Also in Deutsch

Photos 8

Honda Souichiro zaikai 1964Honda Souichiro zaikai 1964Art Shokai Hamamatsu 1935Art Shokai Hamamatsu 1935Art-Curtiss 1934 Japan Automobile RaceArt-Curtiss 1934 Japan Automobile RaceArt-Shokai - Sakakibara brothers and Honda 1934 Japan Automobile RaceArt-Shokai - Sakakibara brothers and Honda 1934 Japan Automobile RaceHonda Heritage Museum (Marysville, Ohio) - Mr. Honda's handprints at the museum entranceHonda Heritage Museum (Marysville, Ohio) - Mr. Honda's handprints at the museum entranceName-Plate-Soichiro-Honda-MHOFName-Plate-Soichiro-Honda-MHOFSOICHIRO HONDA Craftmanship CenterSOICHIRO HONDA Craftmanship Center

In their own words 2

,
Soichiro Honda
,
2 statements, newest first

  1. Many people dream of success. To me success can only be achieved through repeated failure and introspection.

    1989, As quoted in What Creates Jobs? (1989) by Paul Callister; also quoted in The Speed of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything (2008), Own words

  2. We must tighten the nut! We are selling motorcycles not clothes!

    As quoted in "The Innovators" by W. Davis, in Managing Innovation by J. Henry and D. Walker (1999), Own words

Wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0

Awards

James Watt International Medal1991
ASME Medal1980
Holley Medal1980
Honorary Doctor of the Paul Cézanne University1980
Order of the Rising Sun, 1st class
Automotive Hall of Fame
Honorary Citizen of Tenryū
Dud Perkins Award

In their orbit

Child: Hirotoshi Honda

About this person

Soichiro Honda was a Japanese engineer born on 17 November 1906. In 1948 he established Honda Motor Co., Ltd., setting up operations in a wooden shack where the company first manufactured bicycle motors. Over the following decades he steered the firm's expansion into motorcycles and then automobiles, transforming it into a multinational manufacturer. He remained at the helm through that long climb, overseeing the company until his death on 5 August 1991.

Country
Japan
Category
Scientists
Type
Scientist
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1906 to 1991 · aged 84

Scientists from Japan 6

Taiichi Ohno56.8Jiro Horikoshi56.0Tsuneko Okazaki57.4Ken Kutaragi55.9Tsutomu Yamaguchi57.4Koichi Wakata55.9

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