The Lincoln Motor Company was founded in 1917 by Henry Leland — the engineer who had earlier founded Cadillac — and his son Wilfred, originally to build Liberty aircraft engines for the First World War. Named after Abraham Lincoln, Leland’s hero, it began building luxury cars after the war, ran into financial trouble and was bought by Ford in 1922. Under Edsel Ford, Lincoln became one of America’s most elegant brands, and Lincolns carried U.S. presidents for decades. Today Lincoln is Ford’s luxury brand, focused on SUVs.

Timeline

Year Event
1917 Lincoln founded to build Liberty aircraft engines
1920 First Lincoln car, the Model L
1922 Bought by Ford
1936 Lincoln-Zephyr
1939 First Continental
1961 Clean-sided Continental
1981 Town Car becomes a separate model
1998 Navigator
2020 Lincoln becomes an all-SUV lineup in North America

Leland leaves Cadillac

Henry Leland had built Cadillac into a byword for precision. After GM bought Cadillac, Leland and his son left in 1917 over disagreements, reportedly including GM’s reluctance to build aircraft engines for the war. They founded Lincoln to build Liberty V12 engines for the U.S. government.

Cars — and trouble

After the war, Lincoln turned to luxury cars. The first Lincoln Model L was well engineered but conservatively styled, and a postwar recession hurt sales. Lincoln went into receivership, and Henry Ford bought it in 1922. The Lelands soon left.

Edsel Ford’s Lincoln

Henry Ford’s son Edsel had a gift for design and oversaw Lincoln. He commissioned elegant bodies from top coachbuilders, introduced the streamlined Lincoln-Zephyr in 1936 and created the original Continental in 1939. Read the Lincoln-Zephyr and the Continental history.

The presidential brand

Lincolns served as presidential cars for much of the 20th century, including Franklin Roosevelt’s “Sunshine Special” and John F. Kennedy’s SS-100-X. Read the Sunshine Special and presidential limousine history.

Town Car and the livery era

From 1981 to 2011, the Lincoln Town Car was the backbone of the American limousine and black car industry. Read the Lincoln Town Car history.

Lincoln today

With the Navigator and Aviator, Lincoln has become an SUV brand in North America, while also selling sedans in China. Read the Navigator history.