Henry Ford

Henry Ford was born in Springfield village (state Michigan) on July 30 1863. He was the eldest of 6 children of William and Mary Ford, who ran a successful farming business. Henry’s childhood passed at his parents’ farm. He was helping his parents with the farm and attended an ordinary village school. From his very childhood Henry expressed an active interest in machinery, which actually led him to the status of one the most famous world industrialists.

The Experience

When Henry was 12 he equipped a small workshop, where he enthusiastically spent all his free time. Exactly at that workshop he constructed his first steam engine several years later. In 1879 Henry Ford moved to Detroit, where he got a job of an engine-driver’s mate. 3 years later Ford moved to Dearborn and during 5 years he was working constructing and repairing steam-engines, sometimes earning additionally on a factory in Detroit. In 1888 he married Clara Bryant and shortly after he became a manager of a timber mill.

In 1891 Ford took the position of engineer at Edison Illuminating Company and in 2 years he was promoted to the position of the chief engineer of the Company. His good salary and sufficient spare time allowed him devote more time to constructing an internal-combustion engine.

The Quadracycle.

The very first internal-combustion engine was assembled by Ford in his kitchen. Then he decided to install it onto a frame with 4 bicycle wheels. This way in 1896 quadracycle appeared, the vehicle that was the first automobile manufactured by Ford.

Own Business

After leaving Edison Illuminating Company in 1899 Henry Ford founded a firm of his own titled Detroit Automobile. Although the firm failed soon, Ford managed to build several racing cars. Ford himself participated a car race in October 1901 and won the Champion of USA Alexander Winton.

Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company was formed in 1903. Its founders were 12 businessmen from Michigan state headed by Henry Ford, who had 25.5% of the stocks and held the position of vice-President and chief engineer of the company. The former wagon factory of Mack Avenue (Detroit state) was converted into an automobile manufacture. A group of 2-3 workers supervised directly by Ford assembled automobiles from components custom-built by other firms. The first automobile the company produced was sold on July 23 1903. Since 1906 Henry Ford was the President and the main proprietor of the company.

In 1908 Henry Ford realized a dream of his by releasing a T model, a reliable and inexpensive automobile that became one of the most popular mass automobiles of that time. Exactly appearance of Ford T model started a new era of development of individual transport means. Ford’s automobile was easy to drive, it didn’t require special technical maintenance and could even master the rural ...