Honda founder Soichiro Honda died in 1991.
He died on August 5, 1991, in Tokyo, at age 84, from liver failure. By then, the company he had founded had grown from a postwar manufacturer of motorized bicycle equipment into one of the world’s leading motorcycle and automobile makers. Honda had retired as company president in 1973 but remained involved as a director and later served as the company’s supreme adviser.
Soichiro Honda established Honda Motor Co., Ltd. in 1948. His technical instincts were complemented by business partner Takeo Fujisawa, who helped organize financing, sales, and international expansion. Together they built a company known for engineering, racing, and affordable personal transportation.
Honda’s death is sometimes confused with the later deaths of other major Japanese automotive figures, or with dates connected to company milestones. The year 1991 is also notable because Honda was honored posthumously with the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun. Formula One driver Ayrton Senna dedicated his Hungarian Grand Prix victory, held shortly after Honda’s death, to him.