Henry Ford
Ford Motor Company founder, Inventor of the assembly line
In The Beginning
Ford was born in Greenfield, Michigan on July 30, 1863 and demonstrated early intelligence on the farm. In 1897 Ford left his farm to go and work for the Michigan Car Company in Detroit. He got most of his knowledge from trial-and-error at his various jobs. His first self-propelled vehicle was the Quadricycle(Right:Ford on his Quadricycle): A four bicycle-wheel like, only forward, tiller-like steering, vehicle. He later created his second car in 1898, showing that he is well prepared for his own business. His first two businesses failed, and so he started building and racing cars, which drew the attention of investors. He got his third company in 1903: Ford Motor Company.
Ford Motor Company
Ford and his young employees created several cars, like the Model A, and the best selling Model N. Ford was not satisfied, and still wanted to create a more affordable and reliable car for all people. The response to this was the easy to handle, and maintain, iconic Model T(Right:Fords Model T), which released in 1908. The company moved into a bigger factory in order to try and increase production rates. He gathered information from different types of people in order to increase efficiency in his factory, and developed the moving assembly line. His workers were quitting because of all he labor, and so he raised the working hour wage to $5. In 1927 he stopped building model T's and started designing a new car: The Model A. This car was not as successful as the Model T, and went out of production in 4 years. When the war broke out, his company became one of the largest military contractors. He later retired to Dearborn where he died at age 83 on April 7, 1947.
Fords Impact
Ford had a huge impact on the century, not only in economics, but in proving that the American dream was real. His car was the first car to be offered to not just the rich, but also the everyday man. He turned the car into not just a luxury, but a necessity. Ford was one of the first to use the idea of a moving assembly line, and perfected it. His way of producing cars is what turned a car into a normal thing ,and to how the automobile would shape modern America. His story is one of the greatest success storied of the century, and he set the path as to how cars should be.(Right: Henry Ford)
Works Cited
- "The Life of Henry Ford." The Life of Henry Ford. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2015.
- Gross, Daniel. Forbes Greatest Business Stories of All Time. New York: J. Wiley & Sons, 1996. Print.