News reports at the time quoted him as saying he was shocked by the content and unaware of its nature. [citation needed], In the late 1930s and early 1940s, Edselwho was president of the companythought Ford had to come to a collective bargaining agreement with the unions because the violence, work disruptions, and bitter stalemates could not go on forever. Henry Ford (1863-1947) was an industrialist who changed the face of automobile manufacture in America, becoming the epitome of American Capitalism. Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company, was born in Springwells Township, Wayne County, Michigan, on July 30, 1863, to Mary (Litogot) and William Ford. [111] Ford entered stripped-down Model Ts in races, finishing first (although later disqualified) in an "ocean-to-ocean" (across the United States) race in 1909, and setting a one-mile (1.6km) oval speed record at Detroit Fairgrounds in 1911 with driver Frank Kulick. Henry Ford Early Life Henry Ford was born in 1863 on a farm in rural Michigan, near Detroit. Young Henry Ford showed an early interest in mechanics. [53], According to biographer Steven Watts, Ford's status as a leading industrialist gave him a worldview that warfare was wasteful folly that retarded long-term economic growth. Henry Ford is 6-3 (190 cm) tall. One month later, Henry Ford founded his second automobile venture, the Henry Ford Company. In My Life and Work, Ford predicted that if greed, racism, and short-sightedness could be overcome, then economic and technological development throughout the world would progress to the point that international trade would no longer be based on (what today would be called) colonial or neocolonial models and would truly benefit all peoples.[110]. Ford's essays and booklets helped fuel antisemitism in the U.S. and abroad. The decision was made in 1922, when Ford and Crowther described it as six 8-hour days, giving a 48-hour week,[39] but in 1926 it was announced as five 8-hour days, giving a 40-hour week. Meanwhile, Henry Ford designed and built several racing cars. [34] Ford's policy proved that paying employees more would enable them to afford the cars they were producing and thus boost the local economy. Despite the introduction of the Ford V-8 in 1932, by 1936 . The remarkable birth rate of Model Ts was made possible by the most advanced production technology yet conceived. Ford wrote back: "If they want to elect me let them do so, but I won't make a penny's investment." Ford had an interest in "Americana". His father was a native of County Cork, Ireland, who came to America in 1847 and settled on a farm in Wayne County. After the war, it returned to auto manufacturing until 1925, when Ford acquired the Stout Metal Airplane Company. He was not the inventor of the automobile, which is generally accredited wrongly to him. by Dr. David L. Lewis Read more A Young Henry Ford from Henry Ford's "A Personal History" 1832 Samuel and George Ford arrive from Ireland and settle in Dearborn Township Dearborn Township, circa 1842 A New World Beckons Between 1895 and 1896, Ford drove that machine about 1000 miles. Henry Ford was born July 30, 1863, on a farm in Springwells Township, Michigan. He was glad to fight, even though the fight pitted the puny Ford Motor Company against an industry worth millions of dollars. Nothing happened until 1945 when, with bankruptcy a serious risk, Ford's wife Clara and Edsel's widow Eleanor confronted him and demanded he cede control of the company to his grandson Henry Ford II. For eight years he attended a one-room school when he wasnt helping on the farm with the harvest. In 1919, Henry, Clara, and Edsel Ford acquired the interest of all minority stockholders for $105,820,894 and became the sole owners of the Company. Died At Age: 83 Family: Spouse/Ex-: Clara Ala Bryant (m. 1888-1947) father: William Ford mother: Mary Litogot Ford siblings: Jane Ford, Margaret Ford, Robert Ford, William Ford Jr. children: Edsel Ford Born Country: United States Quotes By Henry Ford Automobile Industry Died on: April 7, 1947 place of death: Dearborn, Michigan, United States Not until the 1930s did Ford overcome his objection to finance companies, and the Ford-owned Universal Credit Corporation became a major car-financing operation. He had determined several years before to build a gasoline-powered vehicle, and his first working gasoline engine was completed at the end of 1893. "[91], Michael Barkun observed: "That Cameron would have continued to publish such anti-Semitic material without Ford's explicit instructions seemed unthinkable to those who knew both men. Every Ford dealership nationwide was required to carry the paper and distribute it to its customers. Ford published an anti-smoking book, circulated to youth in 1914, called The Case Against the Little White Slaver, which documented many dangers of cigarette smoking attested to by many researchers and luminaries. x, 37687; Lewis (1976) pp. His intense commitment to systematically lowering costs resulted in many technical and business innovations, including a franchise system that put dealerships throughout North America and major cities on six continents. [80] Ford is the only American mentioned favorably in Hitler's autobiography Mein Kampf. [76] The Independent ran for eight years, from 1920 until 1927. His victory had wide implications for the industry, and the fight made Ford a popular hero. [41], Ford had decided to boost productivity, as workers were expected to put more effort into their work in exchange for more leisure time. Ultimately, the company was not successful and was dissolved in January 1901. Dearborn, Michigan. [113], When Edsel Ford, President of Ford Motor Company, died of cancer in May 1943, the elderly and ailing Henry Ford decided to assume the presidency. The development of mass-production techniques, which enabled the company eventually to turn out a Model T every 24 seconds; the frequent reductions in the price of the car made possible by economies of scale; and the payment of a living wage that raised workers above subsistence and made them potential customers for, among other things, automobilesthese innovations changed the very structure of society. The design was fervently promoted and defended by Ford, and production continued as late as 1927; the final total production was 15,007,034. But Ford believed that eventually, if good managers such as he could fend off the attacks of misguided people from both left and right (i.e., both socialists and bad-manager reactionaries), the good managers would create a socio-economic system wherein neither bad management nor bad unions could find enough support to continue existing. After his promotion to Chief Engineer in 1893, he had enough time and money to devote attention to his experiments on gasoline engines. ", "America's wholesome square dancing tradition is a tool of white supremacy", "Jews and Baseball Is a Film You Should Catch", Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story, "The Dearborn Independent, February 20, 1926 Henry Ford", "Ford's Anti-Semitism | American Experience | PBS", "Henry Ford and the Jews, the story Dearborn didn't want told | Bridge Michigan", "The International Jew: 1920s Antisemitism Revived Online | ADL", "Ford and GM Scrutinized for Alleged Nazi Collaboration", "The dark legacy of Henry Ford's anti-Semitism", "Mayor's attempt to censor local article about Henry Ford's anti-Semitism draws national attention", "At Ford-sponsored Auschwitz exhibit, no sign of founder's role in Nazi machine", "Leader in Production Founded Vast Empire in Motors in 1903. (He was determined to have full control over strategic decisions.) These experiments culminated in 1896 with the completion of a self-propelled vehicle, which he named the Ford Quadricycle. In her view, it would not be worth the chaos it would create. When young Ford left his fathers farm in 1879 for Detroit, only two out of eight Americans lived in cities; when he died at age 83, the proportion was five out of eight. For eight years he attended a one-room school when he wasn't helping on the farm with the harvest. The book made a great influence on myself and my friends because we saw in Henry Ford the representative of success and also the representative of a progressive social policy. Ford also resisted the increasingly popular idea of payment plans for cars. [24], The result was the Ford Model A, introduced in December 1927 and produced through 1931, with a total output of more than fourmillion. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. He pursued the project with a great deal of interest in the design of the engine, chassis, and other mechanical necessities, while leaving the body design to his son. Along with many rural Midwesterners of his generation, Ford hated industrial combinations and Eastern financial power. Early on Ford demonstrated some of the characteristics that would make him successful, powerful, and famous. Ford sent his engineers and technicians to the Soviet Union to help install the equipment and train the workforce, while over a hundred Soviet engineers and technicians were stationed at Ford's plants in Detroit and Dearborn "for the purpose of learning the methods and practice of manufacture and assembly in the Company's plants". [44]:311The following day photographs of the injured UAW members appeared in newspapers, later becoming known as The Battle of the Overpass. Keywords Photographic prints Photographs Studio portraits Ford, William, 1826-1905 During this period the company began to decline, losing more than $10million a month ($169,120,000 today). In one of them, called Sweepstakes, he defeated Alexander Winton on a track in Grosse Pointe, Michigan on October 10, 1901. Ford remained a staunch Wilsonian and supporter of the League. [5] At twenty, Ford walked four miles to their Episcopal church every Sunday. His brother-in-law, Edward G. Kingsford, used wood scraps from the Ford factory to make the briquets. The losing side in the war typically suffered heavy damage. The Trimotor first flew on June 11, 1926, and was the first successful U.S. passenger airliner, accommodating about 12 passengers in a rather uncomfortable fashion. His father, William Ford (1826-1905), was born in County Cork, Ireland, of a family originally from western England, who were among migrants to Ireland as the English created plantations. [75] A year and a half later, Ford began publishing a series of articles in the paper under his own name, claiming a vast Jewish conspiracy was affecting America. He cultivated a relationship with George Washington Carver for this purpose. He moved the schoolhouse supposedly referred to in the "Mary Had a Little Lamb" nursery rhyme from Sterling, Massachusetts, and purchased the historic Wayside Inn. Henry Fords career as a builder of automobiles dated from the winter of 1893 when his interest in internal combustion engines led him to construct a small one-cylinder gasoline model. Overnight Ford became a worldwide celebrity. Henry Ford's siblings were Margaret Ford (18671938); Jane Ford (c. 18681945); William Ford (18711917) and Robert Ford (18731934). . After completing his apprenticeship in 1882, he spent a year setting up and repairing Westinghouse steam engines in southern Michigan. But for the previous 20 years, though he had long been without any official executive title, he had always had de facto control over the company; the board and the management had never seriously defied him, and this time was no different. She was born in Detroit, Michigan . "Arnstein & Lehr, The First 120 Years" (Louis A. Lehr, Jr.)(Amazon), p. 32. He was later hired by Westinghouse to service their steam engines.[8]. Ford replied, "Well, you've been fighting General Motors and the Wall Street crowd. His father expected him to take over the family farm eventually, but he despised farm work. Celebrated as both a technological genius and a folk hero, Ford was the creative force behind an industry of unprecedented size and wealth that in only a few decades permanently changed the economic and social character of the United States. By 1932, Ford was manufacturing one-third of the world's automobiles. Henry Ford was one of eight children born to William and Mary Ford. By this point, Ford, nearing 80 years old, had had several cardiovascular events (variously cited as heart attacks or strokes) and was mentally inconsistent, suspicious, and generally no longer fit for such immense responsibilities.[114]. He became president and controlling owner in 1906. [88] According to some trial testimony, none of this work was written by Ford, but he allowed his name to be used as an author. that Ford's engineers surreptitiously measured the Fokker plane and then copied it. Like other automobile companies, Ford entered the aviation business during World War I, building Liberty engines. All invention was a matter of evolution, he said, yet Selden claimed genesis. They formed a coalition of Jewish groups for the same purpose and raised constant objections in the Detroit press. Fords success in making the automobile a basic necessity turned out to be but a prelude to a more widespread revolution. It was opened in 1929 as the Edison Institute. The Dearborn police department and Ford security guards opened fire on workers leading to over sixty injuries and five deaths. After founding the Ford Motor Company, the American industrialist Henry Ford developed a system of mass production based on the assembly line and the conveyor belt which produced low-priced cars . At age 16 he walked to Detroit to find work in its machine shops. The design never caught on.[125]. Henry Ford, the man who changed America - Advanced English - Linguapress "The Automobile Industry and its Tycoon", Valds, Dennis Nodin. Henry retained final decision authority and sometimes reversed the decisions of his son. The motor age arrived owing mostly to Fords vision of the car as the ordinary mans utility rather than as the rich mans luxury. While these articles explicitly condemned pogroms and violence against Jews, they blamed the Jews themselves for provoking them. Ford also was one of the early backers of the Indianapolis 500. 1. Both supporters and critics insisted that Fordism epitomized American capitalist development, and that the auto industry was the key to understanding economic and social relations in the United States. "[74], In 1918, Ford purchased his hometown newspaper, The Dearborn Independent. [21] Despite this acquisition of a premium car maker, Henry displayed relatively little enthusiasm for luxury automobiles in contrast to Edsel, who actively sought to expand Ford into the upscale market. I will build a motor car for the great multitude, Ford proclaimed in announcing the birth of the Model T in October 1908. What was Henry Ford's childhood like? | Britannica [16] (See Ford Piquette Avenue Plant), Sales passed 250,000 in 1914. By the time he wrote his 1922 memoir, he had spoken of the Social Department and the private conditions for profit-sharing in the past tense. 10 Fast Facts About Henry Ford - HotCars "The Political Economy of Industrial Location: the Ford Motor Company at Cork 191226.". The grand house, made of Savannah-gray brick, had marble steps, air conditioning, and an elevator. [32][33], Detroit was already a high-wage city, but competitors were forced to raise wages or lose their best workers. Ford was widely known for his pacifism during the first years of World War I. For other people with the same name, see, Interest in materials science and engineering, Florida and Georgia residences and community, Evans, Harold "They Made America" Little, Brown and Company. Ford was increasingly sidelined, and others made decisions in his name. They saw the size, tempo, standardization, and philosophy of production demonstrated at the Ford Works as a national servicean "American thing" that represented the culture of the United States. Henry Ford - Wikipedia He had Retired in 1945. KATHLEEN RANISZEWSKI | News, Sports, Jobs - The Alpena News Henry Ford - Philanthropy Roundtable Ford experimented with a commercial rubber plantation in the Amazon jungle called Fordlndia; it was one of his few failures. "[41], Ford was adamantly against labor unions. "[38], In addition to raising his workers' wages, Ford also introduced a new, reduced workweek in 1926. Reuther inquired, "What do you mean?" Henry Ford was born on a Michigan farm in July 1863. "Four-fifths of the hundreds of letters addressed to Ford in July 1927 were from Jews, and almost without exception they praised the industrialist"[94] In January 1937, a Ford statement to The Detroit Jewish Chronicle disavowed "any connection whatsoever with the publication in Germany of a book known as the International Jew". He was followed by five siblings: John, Margaret, Jane, William, and Robert. In 1929, Ford made an agreement with the Soviets to provide technical aid over nine years in building the first Soviet automobile plant (GAZ) near Nizhny Novgorod (Gorky)[104] (an additional contract for construction of the plant was signed with The Austin Company on August 23, 1929). Died: April 7, 1947. Ford added that "in the spring of 1893 the machine was running to my partial satisfaction and giving an opportunity further to test out the design and material on the road." His mother, Mary Litogot Ford (1839-1876), was born in Michigan; she was the youngest child of Belgian immigrants; her parents died . [56] He was defeated in a close election by the Republican candidate, Truman Newberry, a former United States Secretary of the Navy. Henry Ford was one of eight children born to William and Mary Ford. [81] Adolf Hitler wrote, "only a single great man, Ford, [who], to [the Jews'] fury, still maintains full independence [from] the controlling masters of the producers in a nation of one hundred and twenty millions." The board of directors followed his recommendation. Omissions? (Read Henry Fords 1926 Britannica essay on mass production.). [54], Ford's British factories produced Fordson tractors to increase the British food supply, as well as trucks and warplane engines. He also had a vacation home (known today as the "Ford Plantation") in Richmond Hill, Georgia, which is now a private community. A Young Henry Ford - The Ford Story - Henry Ford Heritage Since his demise, his line has ensured the continuation of the family business meet his heirs. It gave Ford a reputation as a performance make well-suited for hot-rodding. They had one child, son Edsel Bryant Ford was born on November 6, 1893. Speaking in 1931 to a Detroit News reporter, Hitler said "I regard Henry Ford as my inspiration," explaining his reason for keeping a life-size portrait of Ford behind his desk. She was a lifelong resident of Alpena, Michigan. [9]:95100,119[55], In 1918, with the war on and the League of Nations a growing issue in global politics, President Woodrow Wilson, a Democrat, encouraged Ford to run for a Michigan seat in the U.S. Senate. "[79], In Germany, Ford's The International Jew, the World's Foremost Problem was published by Theodor Fritsch, founder of several antisemitic parties and a member of the Reichstag. Henry Ford was one of six children, is mother and father were great people and they made sure that all six of their children were brought up correctly and healthy. [86], On February 1, 1924, Ford received Kurt Ludecke, a representative of Hitler, at home. Ford moved back to Detroit nine years later as a married man. "[98], The distribution of The International Jew was halted in 1942 through legal action by Ford, despite complications from a lack of copyright. [70][bettersourceneeded][71] The young man took over and, as his first act of business, fired Harry Bennett. He received the watch, and he witnessed the operation of a Nichols and Shepard road engine, "the first vehicle other than horse-drawn that I had ever seen". HENRY FORD. The Model T was the chief instrument of one of the greatest and most rapid changes in the lives of the common people in history, and it effected this change in less than two decades. Ford was interested in engineered woods ("Better wood can be made than is grown"[126]) (at this time plywood and particle board were little more than experimental ideas); corn as a fuel source, via both corn oil and ethanol;[127] and the potential uses of cotton. After various test drives, Ford brainstormed ways to improve the Quadricycle. Early Life and Career Born in Springwells Township, Wayne County, Mich. (now part of southwest Detroit) in 1863, Henry Ford was the eldest of six children. Portrait of Henry Ford as a Child, 1865-1866 - The Henry Ford Jul 13, 2021 08:40 A.M. Henry Ford was the founder of the Ford dynasty, known for its iconic automobiles and philanthropic efforts. We can fight General Motors and Wall Street together, eh?"[47]. When he received the 33rd degree of the Scottish Rite in 1940, he said, "Masonry is the best balance wheel the United States has. Engineering Photographic Department Creator Notes Originally photographed by William Marratt of Detroit, circa 1880. Unlike many other automotive inventors, including Charles Edgar and J. Frank Duryea, Elwood Haynes, Hiram Percy Maxim, and his Detroit acquaintance Charles Brady King, all of whom had built self-powered vehicles before Ford but who held onto their creations, Ford sold his to finance work on a second vehicle, and a third, and so on. [11], In 1891, Ford became an engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company of Detroit. Advertisement They threatened to sell off their stock, which amounted to three quarters of the company's total shares, if he refused. In 1914 the Ford Motor Company announced that it would henceforth pay eligible workers a minimum wage of $5 a day (compared to an average of $2.34 for the industry) and would reduce the work day from nine hours to eight, thereby converting the factory to a three-shift day. [44][61] In the run-up to World War II and when the war erupted in 1939, he reported that he did not want to trade with belligerents. He became regarded as an apt symbol of the transition from an agricultural to an industrial America. Agreement Between the Ford Motor Company, the Supreme Council of National Economy, and the Amtorg Trading Corporation, May 31, 1929, Amtorg Records 19291930, Acc. Model T In response, Malcomson brought in another group of investors and convinced the Dodge Brothers to accept a portion of the new company. Ford also believed decent leisure time was good for business, giving workers additional time to purchase and consume more goods. Henry Ford was a great man, who was born on July 30, 1863 in Dearborn, Michigan. Henry Ford, then, is an apt symbol of the transition from an agricultural to an industrial America. [13], With the help of C. Harold Wills, Ford designed, built, and successfully raced a 26-horsepower automobile in October 1901. Hitler was a fan of Ford's antisemitic writing, mentioning the carmaker by name in his own 1925 anti-Jewish . [76] The series ran in 91 issues. That puts you on our side, doesn't it? Wilson believed that Ford could tip the scales in Congress in favor of Wilson's proposed League. [citation needed] Not until 1956 would Ford be a publicly-traded company. [120] At the time, smoking was ubiquitous and not yet widely associated with health problems, making Ford's opposition to cigarettes unusual. Ford had a vacation residence in Fort Myers, Florida, next to that of Thomas Edison, which he bought in 1915 and used until c.1930. The couple's only child, Edsel, was born in November 1893. Ford maintained an interest in auto racing from 1901 to 1913 and began his involvement in the sport as both a constructor and a driver, later turning the wheel over to hired drivers. As the Ford Motor Company sole owner, he became one of the richest and best-known people in the world. [13] However, the automobiles produced were of a lower quality and higher price than Ford wanted. The basis of their power was control of a patent granted in 1895 to George Baldwin Selden, a patent lawyer of Rochester, New York. Henry Fords assembly-line methods revolutionized factory production. Thomas Edison would become a lifelong mentor and friend to Henry Ford. [13] They formed a partnership, "Ford & Malcomson, Ltd." to manufacture automobiles. He led 170 other peace activists. His parents, William Ford and Mary Litogot Ford, had lost their first son at birth in January 1862, but Henry arrived safe and sound. Efficiency meant hiring and keeping the best workers. A boycott against Ford products by Jews and liberal Christians also had an impact, and Ford shut down the paper in 1927, recanting his views in a public letter to Sigmund Livingston, president of the ADL. Henry Ford is born on a farm to William and Mary Ford in Springwells Township, Michigan, located nine miles outside of Detroit. He lent his name to 'Fordism' - efficient mass production. Henry Ford - ASME - The American Society of Mechanical Engineers The plane was similar to Fokker's V.VII3m, and some say[who?] It may have inspired the creation of Old Sturbridge Village as well. The flathead V8, variants of which were used in Ford vehicles for 20 years, was the result of a secret project launched in 1930 and Henry had initially considered a radical X-8 engine before agreeing to a conventional design. [90] Investigative journalist Max Wallace noted that "whatever credibility this absurd claim may have had was soon undermined when James M. Miller, a former Dearborn Independent employee, swore under oath that Ford had told him he intended to expose Sapiro. He explained his views on unions in Chapter 18 of My Life and Work. Ford created the first automobile that middle-class Americans could afford, and his conversion of the automobile from an expensive luxury into an accessible conveyance profoundly impacted the landscape of the 20th century. The historical village plan never came to fruition. Subsequently, the Ford company adopted an annual model change system similar to that recently pioneered by its competitor General Motors (and still in use by automakers today). "[95], In July 1938, the German consul in Cleveland gave Ford, on his 75th birthday, the award of the Grand Cross of the German Eagle, the highest medal Nazi Germany could bestow on a foreigner. [25], Ford did not believe in accountants; he amassed one of the world's largest fortunes without ever having his company audited under his administration. He concluded the letter with, "My sincere hope that now in this country and throughout the world when the war is finished, hatred of the Jews and hatred against any other racial or religious groups shall cease for all time. The contract was signed in June 1941. Ford was born on a farm in Michigan's Springwells Township, leaving home at age 16 to work in Detroit. Summary. It had the steering wheel on the left, which every other company soon copied. Early life Henry Ford was born July 30, 1863, on a farm in Springwells Township, Michigan. Photographic print Subject Date circa 1865 Creators Marratt, William, 1829- Ford Motor Company. On June 16, 1903, Henry and 12 others invested $28,000 and created Ford Motor Company. Born on July 30, 1863, on his family's farm in Dearborn, Michigan, Henry Ford enjoyed tinkering with machines from the time he was a young boy. Glock, Charles Y. and Quinley, Harold E. (1983). Henry Ford Biography | Biography Online Eventually he built a small farm locomotive, a tractor that used an old mowing machine for its chassis and a homemade steam engine for power. Henry Ford - Biography, Founder of Ford Motor Company He believed that international trade and cooperation led to international peace, and he used the assembly line process and production of the Model T to demonstrate it.[102]. At the time of his death, flooding on the Rouge River, which flows through the grounds of Fair Lane, had cut off electrical power. [13] Sales were slow, and a crisis arose when the Dodge brothers demanded payment for their first shipment. Henry Ford has not been . In July 1891, he was employed as an engineer at the Edison Illuminating Company of Detroit. So in 1879 . By the time he was 12, he was spending most of his spare time in a small machine shop he had equipped himself.