In 1903, an intrepid engineer by the name of Henry Ford founded the Ford Motor Company, and in a few short years his company would become one of the largest and best-known auto manufacturers in the world. Henry Ford was not a simple man, but his legacy and effects on industry of every kind have been felt for more than 100 years.
July 30th marked the 150th birthday of Henry Ford, and the company that still bears his name put on a big birthday bash that included charitable transfers of property and a celebration open to the general public. It’s all part of a year-long celebration for the man who brought the automobile to America’s working class, changed the way Americans get mobile forever.
Born on July 30th, 1863, Henry Ford entered the world at a time when America was reeling from a war with itself and industrialization was just starting to open the door to a new age of technological marvels. Ford left his Dearborn, Michigan home at the age of 16 to become a machinist apprentice, and ended up working for Thomas Edison. Edison encouraged Ford to start his car company, though Ford failed twice before founding the Ford Motor Company on June 16th, 1903.
In 1908 Henry Ford would introduce the Model T, and his perfection of the assembly line technique allowed Ford to churn out reliable and affordable automobiles. It was Ford’s previous business partner Henry Leland at Cadillac and later Lincoln though who helped improve the assembly processes further by creating standardized, interchangeable parts. Leland’s idea combined with Ford’s assembly line became the model for the auto-industry worldwide.
He voluntarily raised wages for workers and instituted the 40-hour work week that most Americans enjoy today. Car’s were expensive toys for the wealthy until Ford came along, producing a car that the men building it could afford to buy on their own salary. He wasn’t without his own detractors though, Ford was a vehement anti-semite and union buster as well, marring his reputation with later generations.
Ford’s contributions to the auto industry, and industry as a whole, stand far above his own shortcomings and prejudices, and it is hard to believe that Ford has celebrated 110 years as an automaker. All thanks to a Michigan farm boy with dreams of a better tomorrow. Happy birthday Henry Ford.
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