HENRY FORD by Jacob A. Barber

Ford’s Early Life Henry Ford was born July 30, 1863, he was the first of the six children of Mary and William Ford. He grew up on a farm in Dearborn, MI and showed a dislike of farm work at an early age. He enjoyed mechanical things and in1879 he left for Detroit and became an apprentice machinist. He married Clara Bryant in1888.

THE ENGINEER In 1891, he became an engineer for Edison Illuminating Company and soon made a conscious decision to dedicate his life to industrial pursuits. Promotion to chief engineer gave him enough time and money to give attention to internal combustion engines and in 1896 Henry Ford completed his first self-propelled-vehicle-the quadricycle.

FORD MOTOR COMPANY After two failed attempts to start a car company, the Ford Motor Company was founded in With Henry Ford as V.P. and chief engineer, the new company made a few cars a day at its factory on Mack avenue in Detroit. Groups of two or three men worked on each car with parts made to order by other companies. He realized his dream of making a car that was low priced, reliable and efficient with the introduction of the model T in It was easy to operate, maintain, and handle on the rough roads of the day. It was an instant success. By 1918, half the cars in America were Model Ts. To meet the customer demand, Ford opened a humongous factory in Highland Park, MI. in There he combined a lot of tools and labor, and in 1913 Ford had made the first continuously moving assembly line. Aerial view of the Rouge Plant in Number of men on payroll at capacity: 81,000. Total floor space: 6,952,484 sq. ft. Total cost: $268, 991,

FORD MOTOR COMPANY (cont) Henry Ford started construction on the world's largest industrial plant on the banks of the Rouge River in Dearborn, Michigan, in the late 1910s and early 1920s. The plant had everything to make a car, a steel mill, glass factory, and an assembly line. Iron ore and coal were brought in on Great Lake steamers and by railroad, and were used to make iron and steel. Rolling mills, forges, and assembly shops made the steel into springs, axles, and car bodies. Foundries made iron into engine blocks and cylinder heads that were assembled with other parts into engines. By September 1927, all steps in the manufacturing process from refining raw Materials to final assembly of the car happened at the humongous Rouge Plant. This established Henry Ford’s idea of mass production.

Philanthropy Henry Ford wanted to give back to the community that had given him so much. One way he found to do this was by establishing the Greenfield Village and The Henry Ford Museum in The grand opening and dedication of the project also celebrated the 50 year anniversary of Edison's incandescent light bulb.

Ford Facts 1. Born July 30, First Job away from home in Married Clara Bryant in Worked with Thomas Edison in Built quadracycle in 1896.

Ford Facts (cont) 6.Founded Ford Motor Co. in Introduced the Model T in 1908 (big success). 7.Built and drove race cars early in his career to demonstrate that his engineering designs produced reliable vehicles? 8.Opened the first assembly car assembly line in The Rouge Plant was fully operational in Established Greenfield Village and The Henry Ford Museum in 1927.

References 1. The Henry Ford Museum Archives (documents and photographs), 2. Henry Ford, By Jennifer Rosenberg, About.com