In this article, we are going to take a look at one of the most influential individual in the world and perhaps the most important figure in the automotive world. Our subject of attention today is celebrated for its method of manufacturing automobiles at the assembly line. Henry Ford is best known as the owner of Ford Motor Company. Its assembly-line formula not only made automobile production faster and cheaper, but also gave the middle class the ability to own cars, at a time when cars were only available to the wealthy.
Biography of Henry Ford
Henry Ford was born on July 30, 1863 in Greenfield Township, Michigan, to Mary and William Ford. As a child, Ford was intelligent and curious. He began to demonstrate his mechanical abilities when his father bought him a pocket watch. He was curious about how the timepiece worked, which prompted him to take it apart and put it back together on his own. He did the same with the watches of his neighbor and his friends, which earned him the reputation of a watch repairer.
In 1879 Ford left home after his mother’s death and began working as a machinist’s apprentice for James F. Flower & Bros. He then worked for the Detroit Dry Dock Co. until 1882, when he returned home. Back home, he began working as a steam engine repairman for the Westinghouse Company.
Henry Ford began working for Edison’s 1891 Electric Lighting Company as a night engineer. Ford found his new job exciting since he learned a lot about electricity, since electricity was a new discovery at that time. After two years working at the Lighting Company, he was promoted to chief engineer. His new position gave him the time and the finances to work on his personal project.
In 1896 Ford completed his personal project, a self-propelled automobile he called the Ford Quadricycle. He received the approval of his leader Thomas Edison, who encouraged Ford to build another vehicle, and the latter completed his second car in 1898. He then resigned from the Edison company and went on to establish the Detroit Automobile Company on August 5, 1899. He started manufacturing automobiles under his new company, but the vehicles were of poor quality and had a high price. The company failed to meet Ford’s expectations and was closed in 1901.
In October 1901 Ford worked on improving the quality of his automobile and with the help of Harold Wills he built a 26 horsepower car. Seeing that Ford’s new project was a success, shareholders of the Detroit Automobile Company went on to found the Henry Ford Company on November 30, 1901, with Ford as the company’s chief engineer. After several problems in the business, Ford left the company and it was renamed Cadillac Automobile Company.
On June 16, 1903, the Ford Motor Company was founded and launched with $28,000 in cash from twelve investors. Since then, the company has become the second largest American automaker, behind General Motors.
Henry Ford retired in September 1945 and handed over the presidency of the Ford Motor Company to his grandson, Henry Ford II. On April 7, 1947, a few months before his 84th birthday, Ford died. His death was the result of a cerebral hemorrhage.
Henry Ford Inventions
Contrary to what most people think, Henry Ford did not invent the automobile or the assembly line, but he introduced several other important aspects of the automobile such as the traction motor, the clutch, the piston ring piston, valve mechanism, starter gear, crankshaft, carburetor and air cleaner. He also made the first car, the Model T, which was cheap for many middle-class Americans.
Family life
Ford was married to Clara Jane Bryant. The couple married on April 11, 1888. Clara was born in 1866 and died in 1950. The couple had only one child, a son named Edsel Ford. Born on November 6, 1893 in Detroit, Michigan, he became president of the Ford Motor Company from 1919 to 1943. Edsel Ford was married to Eleanor Clay and they had 4 children. Edsel died on May 26, 1943, of metastatic stomach cancer and undulant fever.
Henry Ford’s father was William Ford, an Irish-American farmer and businessman. He was born on December 10, 1826 in Ballinascarthy, County Cork, Ireland. William’s parents were John and Thomasine Ford. He had 6 siblings. William was married to a woman of Belgian descent, named Mary Litogot, and they had six children, including Henry Ford. Mary Ford was born in Michigan in 1839 as the youngest child of her parents. His parents are Belgians who immigrated to the United States.
Achievements of Henry Ford
- Henry was the founder of the Ford Motor Company.
- It revolutionized the automotive industry.
- Through hard work and unwavering dedication to his business, Henry was able to establish himself as one of the richest people in the world.
- By introducing the Model T, almost everyone owned a lathe. It had a steering wheel on its left hand which was quickly copied by other car manufacturers.
- He built 7 educational institutions in different places in the United States.
- In 1928, he received the Elliott Cresson Medal from the Franklin Institute.