On this day in 1892, Ransom E. Olds sold the first American car for export. His steam-powered car, featured in Scientific American, was bought by a company in London, making it the first American car sold overseas. And in 1937, “My Michigan” was adopted as the official state song, chosen for expressing the hopes and pride of Michigan's people. However, it’s rarely sung due to copyright issues, with royalties required until the copyright expires in 2031.
TRANSCRIPT
It was on this day in 1892, that Ransom E Olds sold the first car in the nation for export. In 1887, Ransom Olds developed an experimental steam-powered car. An updated version of the car was featured in the May 21, 1892 issue of Scientific American. A company in London saw the article and bought the car, making it the first American-car sold overseas! The two-passenger vehicle was good for 15-miles per hour. He would go on to form Olds Motor Works and sell 4000 Oldsmobiles by 1903.
And in 1937, “My Michigan” was adopted as an official state song, was chosen because it “express(ed) the hopes, ambitions and pride of the people of the State of Michigan.” However, The song is not often sung and is never used on formal state occasions. Why? Because doing so would incur liability to pay royalty. The state didn’t purchase the copyright to the song when adopting it and the song was not released into the public domain. Under federal law, the songs copyright will expire 70 years after the death of its authors which for My Michigan means 2031.