Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) – the American engineer, industrialist and inventor. One of the founders of the US automobile industry, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, organizer of the flow-line production. In 1908 Henry Ford made the car Ford Model T. Ford has sold millions of cars and became a world-renowned head of the company. Over the time, the company has lost its dominance in the market, but it has had a huge impact on the technological progress and the infrastructure of America.
Early Career
When he was 16, he ran away from home and went to work in Detroit. In 1888, Ford married Clara Ala Bryant and temporarily returned to agriculture in order to feed his wife and his son, Edsel. But three years later, he was hired as an engineer in Edison Illuminating Company (1880). In 1893, his natural talent allowed him to become a chief.
But all the time Ford hatched his plans for the horseless carriage. “Vision without execution is just hallucination” (Henry Ford). And in 1896 he built his first model, Ford Quadricycle. In the same year he met leaders of the Edison Company and presented his achievements personally to Thomas Edison who encouraged Ford to build a second, improved model.
Ford Motor Company
“Thinking is the hardest work, which is probably the reason so few engage in it” (Henry Ford). After several tests of car design, in 1903, Henry Ford founded Ford Motor Company. Ford introduced the Model T in October 1908, and over the next few years, the company has achieved 100 percent profit.
Even more Ford became famous for his revolutionary vision of the production of inexpensive cars made by skilled workers who earn a steady salary.
“Quality means doing it right when no one is looking” (Henry Ford). In 1914, he sponsored the development of the mobile tape line for mass production. At the same time, he introduced a wage of $5 per day. Simple to operate and cheap to repair, that’s why the half of all cars in America in 1918 was the Ford Model T.
In 1925, Ford created his own airline, later named Ford Airways. The first product of his enterprise was the three-engine Ford 3-AT Air Pullman. The most successful model was the Ford Trimotor, nicknamed “The Tin Goose,” passenger plane, all-metal monoplane, was manufactured in 1927-1933 by Henry Ford’s Airplane Company. There were released 199 copies. Ford Trimotor was in operation until 1989.
Philosophy and Philanthropy
Henry Ford had contradictory viewpoints. Ford apportioned a part of the profits to employees who have worked in the company for more than six months and most importantly for those who spent their lives in respectable way.
“The social department of the company” noticed bad habits and other negative aspects of candidates while making decisions about employment. Ford was pacifist and an opponent of World War I, he even sponsored peace ships to Europe. Later in 1936 Ford and his family founded the Ford Foundation (1936), to allocate grants for research, education and development.
Henry Ford died in April 7, 1947 at the age of 83 from a brain hemorrhage, near his Dearborn estate, Fair Lane. Henry Ford is one of the greatest businessmen of America. It is difficult to overestimate his contribution to the development of the American economy in the period of its formation.
Reference
Henry Ford (1922) “My Life and Work – An Autobiography of Henry Ford.
