Charles K. Hyde

Although I was born and grew up in Pittsfield, MA, I have spent most of my adult life in the Great Lakes region. I earned my Ph.D. in History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and after a brief time elsewhere, I have taught at Wayne State University in Detroit since 1974. Among other areas, I have published in the fields of Industrial Archeology, Michigan History, Business History, and Automotive History. My study of several abandoned Dteroit automobile factories stimulated my interest in automotive history. My most recent books have been a business history of the Chrysler Corporation, a biography and company history of the Dodge Brothers, and more recently, a combination history of Nash Motors, the Hudson Motor Car Company, and the American Motors Corporation. Although I retired from teaching in 2010, I have remained an acive scholar and writer. I have also remained heavily-involved in the efforts to preserve the Ford Motor Company Piquette Avenue Plant (1904) in Detroit, the birthplace of the Model T Ford and a National Historic Landmark. My newest writing project is a history of the American automobile industry's work during the Second World War.