Quick Facts
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Biography
Betty Thatcher Oros (born Elizabeth Anna Thatcher, April 18, 1917, Elyria, Ohio – August 19, 2001) was an American automobile designer.
Education
Betty Thatcher Oros graduated from Elyria High School in 1935. She attended the Cleveland School of Arts, today’s Cleveland Institute of Art. She majored in Industrial Design, graduating with honors.
Work at Hudson
Hudson Motor Company was among the first automotive companies to employ women designers full-time. They wanted a woman to contribute a female point of view to automotive design, hired Oros as the first female American automotive designer in 1939.
Oros worked on some of the exterior trim for the 1939 Hudson Big Boy truck based on the Hudson Commodore sedan. Her contributions to the 1941 Hudson included exterior trim with side lighting, interior instrument panel, interiors, and interior trim fabrics.
Resignation
Oros designed for Hudson Motors from 1939 into 1941, when she and Joe Oros were married. Because Joe Oros worked in the Cadillac Studio at General Motors, Betty resigned from Hudson to avoid a conflict of interest.
The Oroses had five children: Joe III, Christina, Janet, Mary, and John. She later served as a board member of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art and the Santa Barbara Symphony Orchestra. Betty Thatcher Oros died on August 19, 2001.
