{"id":"175294a6-191a-4b16-994a-fd972af95d5c","slug":"george-hendee","name":"George M. Hendee","bioBrief":"Co-founder of [Indian Motorcycle](/companies/indian-motorcycle) (originally the Hendee Manufacturing Company) in 1901 in Springfield, Massachusetts. A former bicycle racer and manufacturer who founded Hendee Manufacturing in 1897 to produce bicycles, adopting the \"Indian\" brand name in 1898. Partnered with [Oscar Hedstrom](/people/oscar-hedstrom) to build the first Indian motorcycle in 1901. Under Hendee's leadership, Indian became the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer in the 1910s, peaking at 32,000 units in 1913.","priorExits":null,"nationality":"American","verificationPosture":"verified","aliases":[],"sources":[{"url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Motorcycle","title":"Indian Motorcycle — Wikipedia","sourceName":"Wikipedia"},{"url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_M._Hendee","title":"George M. Hendee","sourceName":"Wikipedia"}],"reviewStatus":"reviewed","createdAt":"2026-08-30T13:04:13.696Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-31T11:10:27.239Z","educations":[],"companyRoles":[{"id":"e7f8b985-2884-4fc8-a8b6-f80955cf38d1","personId":"175294a6-191a-4b16-994a-fd972af95d5c","companyId":"ac6af6d8-f612-4de9-8dfb-08946b1ac8a6","role":"founder","roleTitle":"Co-founder","startDate":null,"endDate":null,"currentRole":false,"roleBasis":"verified_secondary","createdAt":"2026-08-30T13:04:14.459Z","company":{"slug":"indian-motorcycle","name":"Indian Motorcycle"}}],"boardRoles":[],"investorRoles":[],"foundings":[]}