FAST FACTS: 

Firestone, for a time, made his living selling buggies in Detroit. Eventually moving to Akron, Ohio, he started the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company in 1900. He was responsible for a number of industry innovations, including the production of pneumatic tires, nonskid tire treads, low-pressure balloon tires, and farm tractor tires. 

By the late 1930's, nearly a quarter of all tires being used in the United States were Firestone tires.