Crosley Radio Corporation

Founded in Cincinnati by automotive entrepreneur Powel Crosley Jr., who adopted mass manufacturing techniques originating from the car industry to his radio factory, earning him the nickname of "The Henry Ford of Radio". Through the 1920s, Crosley Radio specialized in low cost, mass manufactured receivers and grew to one of the largest makers by acquiring several competitors. Crosley Radio was part of a business model that included not just the manufacture, but also broadcasting, and in the early 1930s, the company pioneered one of the first car radios. (Crosley was also making automobiles). During the Depression of the 1930s the Crosley radio business while surviving, failed to maintain its lead among radio manufacturers. Crosley focused and made a larger, pioneering impact in the broadcasting business. The Crosley radio manufacturing infrastructure was then used during WWII for various products ranging from military receivers to proximity fuses.

In 1945, along with several other Crosley businesses, the radio manufacturing branch was acquired by the Aviation Corporation (AVCO). Crosley radio continued operating for about a decade, introducing among other innovations the first portable TV. Unable to turn a profit for AVCO, production stopped in 1956 and the brand name was discontinued the same year.