 Henry FordIndustrialist*
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Henry FordIndustrialist*
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Henry Ford was born on a farm near Detroit, Michigan. He never really enjoyed farming and left the farm at age sixteen, three years after his mother died.
As a child he was fascinated by machines. He always carried around in his pockets nuts and bolts and machinery parts. By the time he was thirteen he could put together a watch that kept time. This interest in machines led him to work for a while as an apprentice machinist, and later he went to work for Westinghouse servicing their steam engines.
Clara Bryant became his wife in 1888. He returned to the farm, built a house, and ran a sawmill. They had one child, a son they named Edsel.
When Henry was twenty-eight he became an engineer at Edison Company which made electrical generating stations. He was made chief engineer two years later and advanced to a salary of $125 a month.
The first car he made was a "gasoline buggy" called the Quadricycle. He drove it around for two years, and it drew a crowd everywhere he went.
Ford Quadricycle
In 1903 he built two race cars to advertise the automobile. One he named the "999" and the other the "Arrow". He hired Barney Oldfield, a professional bicycle rider and race car driver to race for him. In 1904 Ford himself driving the Ford Arrow set a new land speed record in his car - over 91 miles per hour! The event took place on the frozen ice of Lake St. Claire.
When he was forty years old Ford and eleven investors formed the Ford Motor Company. They had a $28,000 investment in it.
Ford Assembly Line
The Model T Ford was introduced on October 1, 1908. Some called it the "Tin Lizzie" and the "Flivver". The cost of the touring car: $950. Five years later he started using an assembly line and could produce cars faster and cheaper until the price of the touring car fell to $360. Assembly lines had been used before, but he was the first to use conveyor* belts to move the parts where they needed them.
The 1912 Model T Ford touring car included such extras as oil lamps, horn, speedometer, and tools.
1912 Model T
Henry Ford's motto was "simplicity" *. By simplifying the process of making cars, he was able to make the car affordable to the common worker in America. Of course, this simplification resulted in only one color choice. He wrote, "A customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants - so long as it is black."
In his book he contrasts the making of axe handles by hand and machine to show how mechanization *reduced the cost of his car.
Ford hired handicapped workers*. He studied the jobs and the requirements and put each man in a place where he could do the job and make a living for his family.
Restored Model A Ford
Sales lagged in the 1920's as other car makers offered more options and financing. He and his son Edsel designed a new car, the Model A.
Ford was a firm believer in the idea that the able-bodied should work. He thought as an employer his job was to serve others. He paid his workers $5 a day. This was nearly twice as much as most employers paid their employees. He felt there was something sacred about wages and what they represent.
He instituted the 40 hour week with men working eight hours a day, five days a week. He had a code of conduct for his employees which forbade heavy drinking and gambling.
His company also made airplanes for a few years. One, a twelve passenger plane, was called the "Tin Goose". He produced tractors to help the farmer to farm more efficiently.
Ford developed an interest in plastics made from soybeans. He worked with George Washington Carver on the research. He even made a plastic car that could withstand heavy blows even better than steel. However, it was never successful.
Ford had a heart attack in 1938 and turned the running of the company over to his son, but Edsel died five years later, and Ford had to again assume leadership. He stayed in that position for two years, but due to his ill health, he made his grandson Henry Ford II president of the company in 1945.
Henry Ford died at the age of 83 of a cerebral * hemorrhage *. He was one of many people who helped to make America great. At the end of his book he describes his vision of a great country in which the resources of a country and the skills of its people are developed so that all have a fair share.
Many of the facts in this story were taken from the book, ( My Life and Work by Henry Ford and Samuel Crowther )
(Make the text larger by with "View - Text size" and enlarge twice)
A frequent question: "Who wrote this biography and when was it written?" Look on this Reference Citations Chart.
The following article, "HENRY FORD ON HIS PLANS AND HIS PHILOSOPHY", appeared in the Literary Digest January 7, 1928.
The pictures will take you to pages where you can enlarge the picture twice and read the article.
(Webmaster note: We do not agree with his philosophy, but the article gives insight into the man.)
The Life of Henry Ford
at Henry Ford.org
Henry Ford Changes the World, 1908
Eye Witness to History.com
Henry Ford
information at Wikipedia
Henry Ford
Time 100
Article about Henry Ford
Technical World Magazine March 1913
Henry Ford
Spectrum Home and School network
Henry Ford
at Spartacus
Henry Ford
at Idea Finder.com, timeline, many resources
Henry Ford
excerpt from a book published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
The first moving assembly line
from PBS
At biography.com search for Henry Ford.
Scroll the panel for the "Video & Audio Results".
Henry Ford's River Rouge Game
By Chatham Hill Games
Henry Ford's River Rouge was Ford's massive and modern industrial complex, built near Detroit, that revolutionized manufacturing. The game allows for team or competetive play, with lots of potential problems in production and management to deal with. Can you beat the one day manufacturing record?
Eat My Dust! Henry Ford's First Race
By Monica Kulling / Random House, Inc
It's 1901 and Henry Ford wants to build a car that everyone can own. But first he needs the money to produce it. How will he get it? He enters a car race, of course! Readers will love this fast-paced, fact-based story! For ages 6-8.
Henry Ford, Grades 1-4
By Mary Tucker / Teaching & Learning Company
Students in grades 1-4 will learn all about Henry Ford, his model T and other inventions, and the development of the automobile. Includes activities and classroom suggestions including how to set up an automobile museum of your own. Finish this study with a Ford Festival; contains directions for food, decorations and entertainment.
Henry Ford
By Carole Marsh / Gallopade International
From Word Central's Student Dictionary
by Merriam - Webster
(Pronunciation note: the schwa sound is shown by ə)
industrialist
Pronunciation: in-'dəs-trE-ə-ləst
Function: noun
an owner or manager of an industry : MANUFACTURER
conveyor
Pronunciation: kən-'vA-ər
Function: noun
a mechanical device for carrying packages or bulk material
from place to place (as by an endless moving belt)
simplicity
Pronunciation: sim-'plis-ət-E
Function: noun
the quality or state of being simple
mechanize
Pronunciation: 'mek-ə-"nIz
Function: verb
1 : to make mechanical; especially : to make automatic
2 a : to equip with machinery especially to replace human or animal labor
cerebral
Pronunciation: sə-'rE-brəl, 'ser-ə-
Function: adjective
of or relating to the brain
hemorrhage
Pronunciation: 'hem-(ə-)rij
Function: noun
a great loss of blood from the blood vessels especially when caused by injury
handicapped
Function: adjective
having a physical or mental disability
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Most Recent Comments ( See more comments on this page ) 2010-02-01
I loved this page. My 7 year old son has to do a book report and we were snowed in this weekend and didnt have a way to make it to the library and today everything is practically shut down. Your website is easy to read and informative and has all the right information for a 7 year old to read and understand.
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