Ford

Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was the American founder of the Ford Motor Company and father of modern assembly lines used in mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry. more...

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He was a prolific inventor and was awarded 161 U.S. patents. As owner of the Ford Company he became one of the richest and best-known people in the world. He is credited with "Fordism", that is, the mass production of large numbers of inexpensive automobiles using the assembly line, coupled with high wages for his workers. Ford had a global vision, with consumerism as the key to peace. Ford did not believe in accountants; he amassed one of the world's largest fortunes without ever having his company audited under his administration. Henry Ford's intense commitment to lowering costs resulted in many technical and business innovations, including a franchise system that put a dealership in every city in North America, and in major cities on six continents. Ford left most of his vast wealth to the Ford Foundation but arranged for his family to control the company permanently.

Early years

Ford was born July 30, 1863, on a farm next to a rural town west of Detroit, Michigan (this area is now part of Dearborn, Michigan). His father, William Ford (1826-1905), was born in County Cork, Ireland. His mother, Mary Litogot Ford (1839-1876), was born in Michigan; she was the youngest child of Belgian immigrants; her parents died when Mary was a child and she was adopted by neighbours, the O'Herns. Henry Ford's siblings include Margaret Ford (1867-1868); Jane Ford (c. 1868-1945); William Ford (1871-1917) and Robert Ford (1873-1934).

Henry took his passion for mechanics into his home. His father had given him a pocket watch in Henry's early teens. At 15, he had a reputation as a watch repairman, having dismantled and reassembled timepieces of friends and neighbors dozens of times.

Ford's mother died in 1876, which came as a devastating blow to young Henry. His father expected him to eventually take over the family farm, but Henry despised farm work. With his mother dead, little remained to keep him on the farm. He later told his father, "I never had any particular love for the farm—it was the mother on the farm I loved."

In 1879, he left home for the nearby city of Detroit to work as an apprentice machinist, first with James F. Flower & Bros., and later with the Detroit Dry Dock Co. In 1882, he returned to Dearborn to work on the family farm and became adept at operating the Westinghouse portable steam engine. He was later hired by Westinghouse company to service their steam engines.

Ford married Clara Ala Bryant (c. 1865-1950) in 1888 and supported himself by farming and running a sawmill. They had a single child: Edsel Bryant Ford (1893-1943).

Read more at Wikipedia.org