In 1903, Herbert M. Dailey of Chicago patented a new rotary engine. The following year the Dailey Rotary Engine Co. was incorporated in Chicago; in early 1905 the Dailey Rotary Engine Co. was incorporated in Galt. Two of the key players were Charles Hetherington of Chicago, co-assignee of the Dailey patent, and Richard W. Roelofson, mechanical superintendent of R. McDougall Co. Ltd. Hetherington supposedly developed a new rotary engine design (which was possibly Dailey's patented design), and a prototype was built at the McDougall plant under Roelofson's supervision. The original Canadian incorporation papers said that the Dailey Rotary Engine Co. was going to be a manufacturer, but a December 1905 article on the new engine said that the company would not be manufacturing it and instead would be licensing the design to others. This article is the last mention we can find of the company so it appears that the engine was not a success and the company quietly shut down.

From January 1906 Canadian Machinery

Information Sources

• 1904-01-28 The National Corporation Reporter.

  Dailey Rotary Engine Company, Chicago; $100,000; Elias Mayer, N. A. Stern, M. I. Rosenbaum.

• The October 1902 - September 1904 Biennial Report of the Secretary of State of the State of Illinois shows that Dailey Rotary Engine Co. was incorporated in Chicago on 1904-02-02, capital $100,000.
• 1905-02-02 The Iron Trade Review.

  The Dailey Rotary Engine Co., Ltd., has obtained a charter of incorporation under the laws of Ontario with a capital of $100,000 and head ofiice at Galt. The provisional directors are: Charles Hetherington, Richard W. Roelofson, Andrew J. Oliver, Charles Turnbull, and Frank E. Brown, all of Galt.

• February 1905 Canadian Machinery & Manufacturing News, in a list of new incorporations.
Dailey Rotary Engine Co., Galt, share capital $100,000: purpose, to manufacture and deal in rotary engines. The directors are: C. Hetherington, R. W. Roelofson, A. J. Oliver, C. Turnbull, and F. E. Brown, all of Galt.