Henry Ford - Biography

Henry Ford - Biography Who Was Henry Ford? assembly line Dates: July 30, 1863 April 7, 1947 Henry Fords Childhood Ford, the Tinkerer Steam Engines It was during this time that Henry met Clara Bryant. When they married in 1888, Henrys father gave him a large piece of land on which Henry built a small house, a sawmill, and a shop to tinker in. Fords Quadricycle Founding the Ford Motor Company Believing that publicity would encourage people to by cars, Henry started building and driving his own racecars. It was at racetracks that Henry Fords name first became well known. However, the average person didnt need a racecar, they wanted something reliable. While Ford worked on designing a reliable car, investors organized a factory. It was this third attempt at a company to make automobiles, the Ford Motor Company, that succeeded. On July 15, 1903, the Ford Motor Company sold its first car, a Model A, to Dr. E. Pfennig, a dentist, for $850. Ford continually worked to improve the cars design and soon created Models B, C, and F. The Model T Since the Model T quickly became so popular that it was selling faster than Ford could manufacture them, Ford began looking for ways to speed up the manufacturing. In 1913, Ford added a motorized assembly line in the plant. The motorized conveyor belts moved the car to the workers, who would now each add one part to the car as the car passed them. The motorized assembly line significantly cut the time, and thus cost, of manufacturing each car. Ford passed on this savings to the customer. Although the first Model T was sold for $850, the price eventually dropped to under $300. Ford produced the Model T from 1908 until 1927, building 15 million cars. Ford Advocates for His Workers Henry Ford Ford also created a sociological department in the factory that would examine workers lives and try to make it better. Since he believed he knew what was best for his workers, Henry was very much against unions. Anti-Semitism Dearborn Independent The Death of Henry Ford For decades, Henry Ford and his only child, Edsel, worked together at the Ford Motor Company. However, friction between them steadily grew, based nearly entirely on differences of opinion over how the Ford Motor Company should be run. In the end, Edsel died from stomach cancer in 1943, at age 49. In 1938 and again in 1941, Henry Ford suffered strokes. On April 7, 1947, four years after Edsels death, Henry Ford passed away at age 83.