- Lee Iacocca, the auto-industry titan who served as CEO of Chrysler and president of Ford during a nearly 50-year career in the business, died at his Southern California home on July 2.
- Iacocca was one of the most colorful and most celebrated car-company executives. Among other things, he is credited with saving Chrysler from bankruptcy in the 1980s.
- Here’s a look at Iacocca’s storied life and career.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
1924
Lido Anthony “Lee” Iacocca is born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to Italian immigrant parents who operate Yocco’s Hot Dogs.
Source: Lehigh Valley Live
1945
Iacocca graduates from Lehigh University with a degree in industrial engineering. He receives his master’s degree in engineering from Princeton one year later, in 1946.
Source: The New York Times
1946
Ford Motor Co. hires Iacocca as an engineer, but he soon makes the transition into sales.
Source: The Detroit News
1956
Iacocca marries Mary McCleary, a receptionist at a Ford Motor Co. office in Philadelphia.
Source: The Washington Post
1964
Iacocca is credited with bringing the Ford Mustang onto the market. He lands several promotions at Ford after this, and within two years of the Mustang's launch, the one-millionth example of the car rolls off the assembly line.
Source: Barron's and Automotive News Europe
1970
Iacocca becomes the president of Ford. He introduces the Ford Mustang II three years later, in 1973.
1978
Henry Ford II fires Iacocca, but he is hired by Chrysler four months later. At the time, Chrysler was again on the rocks due to failed expansions, debt, skyrocketing gas prices, falling sales and increasing international competition.
Source: NBC News
1979
Iacocca becomes Chrysler's CEO.
1980
President Jimmy Carter signs the Chrysler Corp. Loan Guarantee Act of 1979, which gives Chrysler $1.5 billion in federal loans after Iacocca's petitioning of the US government for assistance. The money helps save the struggling automaker from bankruptcy.
Iacocca also sets about cutting production costs, revamping operations, and creating a stronger advertising campaign that attracted buyers around the US. The company repays its government loan seven years early and, by 1984, pulls in more than $2.4 billion in profit, solidifying Iacocca's fame as an intrepid automotive executive.
Source: Bloomberg
1983
Iacocca's first wife, McCleary, dies from complications of diabetes. Iacocca later establishes the Iacocca Family Foundation to fund diabetes research.
Source: The New York Times
1983
Chrysler creates the revolutionary minivan, which lays the groundwork for the SUV.
Source: The Washington Post
1992
Iacocca retires from Chrysler and dedicates more time to his foundation. He then marries Peggy Johnson before divorcing her a year later and marrying Darrien Earle.
Source: Los Angeles Times Archives
1996
Iacocca appears on the cover of Fortune magazine. In an extensive interview with the publication, he declares he has "flunked retirement."
Source: Fortune
1997
Iacocca revives his career, founding EV Global Motors in 1997. "I plan to provide a range of new and exciting electric vehicles that are quiet, clean, safe, and fun," he tells The Washington Post's Warren Brown.
Source: The Washington Post
2007
The automotive legend writes his third book, "Where Have All the Leaders Gone?"
2019
Lee Iacocca dies from complications of Parkinson's Disease on July 2 at the age of 94.
