abstract:William Hillman (13 November 1848 – 4 February 1921) was a British bicycle and automobile manufacturer. In partnership with Louis Coatalen he founded the Hillman-Coatalen Company in 1907, later the Hillman Motor Company after Coatalen's defection to Sunbeam in 1909.
Many automobile pioneers were former bike mechanics, Henry Ford and WilliamHillman among them, and bicycle companies that converted to car manufacturing include Bianchi, Peugeot, Opel, Morris, Rover and Humber.