Dorris Motor Car Co.
St. Louis
Dorris Motors  /  People

People

The engineer whose name went on the door, the showman who put the marque on the map, and the financier who bought it back.

The Principals

The men behind the marque.

Five Dorris principals in driving coats and goggles, photographed in the early 1900s.
The Dorris men in driving coats and goggles, St. Louis, c.1900s.

George Preston Dorris was the engineer's engineer — a prolific inventor whose patents ran from automobile suspension in 1902 to a milk-truck chassis in 1940. The company bore his name and his standards.

  • George Preston DorrisEngineering & Production

    Founder of both marques; held patents on suspension, carburetion, and engine cooling.

  • John L. French Sr.Marketing & Racing

    Co-founder and the company's racing showman; died 1903 of injuries from a Pittsburgh crash.

  • Henry Benjamin KrenningPresident & Financier

    Co-founded the Dorris Motor Car Co. in 1906 and bought it back at auction in 1923.

  • John L. French Jr.Family
  • Andrew Lee DykeAssociate

    An early St. Louis automotive pioneer associated with the marque.

  • Webster ColburnAssociate

George Preston Dorris

A lifetime of patents.

Dorris kept inventing long after the cars stopped — from the suspension and carburetion of the brass era to a milk-truck chassis and even a knife sharpener.

No. 698,909

Automobile Suspension

Granted Apr. 29, 1902
↓ Read patent (PDF)
No. 724,557

Reversing Gear

Granted Apr. 7, 1903
↓ Read patent (PDF)
No. 842,531

Engine Cooling

Granted Jan. 29, 1907
↓ Read patent (PDF)
No. 1,442,256

Distillator

Granted Jan. 16, 1923
↓ Read patent (PDF)
No. 1,442,257

Distillator, Second

Granted Jan. 16, 1923
↓ Read patent (PDF)
No. 2,212,636

Milk-Truck Suspension

Granted Aug. 27, 1940
↓ Read patent (PDF)
No. 2,318,764

Knife Sharpener

Granted May 11, 1943
↓ Read patent (PDF)