Almost everyone will hear the name of Ford Motor Company. The founder of this automobile company is Henry Ford. Incredible but true, Henry Ford was the son of a farmer. The man, who dropped out before school, is known as one of the foremost industrialists of the twentieth century and one of the forerunners of the modern automobile industry. Even Hitler, the head of the German Nazi forces, was fascinated by Henry Ford’s wisdom.
Hitler said, “Henry is my inspiration!”
The path to becoming such a powerful industrialist was not easy for Henry Ford. Let’s learn the story of how he overcame obstacles and started his own automobile company as well as became a business icon.
Birth and Life Battle
Henry Ford was born on July 30, 1863. He was born into a farming family in Greenfield, Detroit, Michigan. His father was William Ford and his mother was Mary Ford. Born into a family of eight siblings, he was never interested in patriarchal farming or farm management. Rather his inclination was towards old machinery. Due to his interest in engineering from an early age, it was understood at an early age that he would be a big industrialist.
Henry was fickle from an early age. Although he was admitted to the school, he could not continue his studies for a long time due to his restlessness and mischief. He was expelled from school. He was devastated when his mother died in 1875. Although he stopped studying, his interest in instruments did not diminish.
From the age of 15, he tried to find solutions to minor mechanical problems. Seeing his interest in instruments, his father also helped him in this matter. He would disassemble his father’s watch and repairing it back by himself. Disassembling his father’s watch and repairing it was part of his daily routine.
He left home at the age of 16. He then joined as a Mechanic in Detroit City. There he worked with James Flower. He then worked at the Detroit Dry Dock. He returned home in 1982 and worked for three years on the family farm. During this time he worked on his own farm with a steam engine. He was later hired by the Westin House Steam Engine Company. During this time he also studied bookkeeping at Bryan & Stratton College in Goldsmith.
Automobile Engineering and the Rise of Ford
In 1891, Henry Thomas Alva joined Edison’s Edison Lighting Company as an engineer. There he worked night shifts and practiced automobile engineering during the day. After being promoted to Chief Engineer in 1893, he became well-off and his knowledge of automobile engineering was enriched. And then he focused on building a car with a gasoline engine. Although the first car was built in 1892, it had some problems. He then built the Ford Quadricycle in 1896. The car also had a test drive on the road several times. And was working to make the car more perfect. He then sat down with Thomas Alva Edison’s company and built a second car inspired by Edison. The entire work was completed in 1898.
After making the second car, he did not approach anyone else. Now he plans to set up an automobile company himself. That’s what he did – on August 5, 1899, he founded the Detroit Automobile Company. The quality of the company’s cars was not as good as it was then. But Henry always wanted people to buy good quality cars at low prices. So he worked more with it. He designed a 26 horsepower car in 1901. And the Ford Motor Company, built with the help of Detroit Automobile Company stockholders. He was the chief engineer of a company built under his own name. When Leland was later hired as a consultant, he left the company and began working with Alexander Malcolmson. Together they found a new investor and in 1903 re-launched the Ford Motor Company.
Model T and Model A
The automobile is the world’s first influential car. Henry Ford began marketing the car in 1908. Since then, cars have come within the reach of the American middle class. This “T” model car is very popular for transforming the car from a luxury product to a daily necessity. As of 1926, After the car “Model T” got massive success for 16 years, He started working on a new car Called “Model A”. Henry launched this 1926. The Ford Model T has been marketed for nearly 17 million units over two decades and is still sold at auction. And the Model A was marketed in about four million units. These two models of cars basically took Henry Ford to the pinnacle of success.
Personal Life and Humanity
In private life, Ford was married to Clara Bryant. In 1893 a son was born to them. Henry Ford is also a person to be followed in terms of human qualities. He refrained from lying to himself and always advised everyone around him to tell the truth. He was the only person in America at that time whose company’s labor had a wage of 5$. In other words, he was kind to the workers in his company. He conducted more developmental activities for the employees of his company, including schools, colleges, and welfare funds. The Ford Foundation, which he founded, is still funding various development activities. During World War II, he also worked internationally to stop riot facades.
Henry Ford said, “If you do something for the world, the world will do something for you.”
Henry Ford is a shining example of how a man can rise from the roots only through his own will and cause. Vehicles are a daily necessity in our lives. And Henry Ford’s name will be written in human history forever, as he builds vehicles for the people and shapes the global automobile industry.
