Henry Ford was born on July 30, 1863 on a Dearborn, Michigan farm. When Henry was 15, his father gave him a pocket watch for a gift, which he promptly took apart and reassembled. Friends and neighbors were impressed and asked him to fix their watches too. Henry Ford was unsatisfied with farm work, so he left home the next year, at age 16, to take an apprenticeship as a machinist in Detroit. In following years, he would learn to operate and service steam engines, and would also study bookkeeping. In 1891, Ford became an engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company in Detroit. This decision dedicated his life to an industrial future. He was promoted to Chief Engineer in 1893 which gave him enough time and money to experiment on specific engines.These experiments lead to the completion of his own self-propelled vehicle-the Quadricycle. The Quadricycle had four wire wheels that looked like bicycle wheels, and had only two forward speeds with no reverse. This was the start to change the lives of millions.
Transportation was on its way to change the lifestyles of Americans very rapidly. After two unsuccessful attempts to establish a company to manufacture automobiles, the Ford Motor Company was established in 1903 with Henry Ford as vice-president and chief engineer. The new company produced only a few cars a day with groups of two or three men working on each car. By 1918, half of all cars in America were Model Ts. To meet the growing demand for the Model T, the company opened a large factory at Highland Park, Michigan, in 1910. Henry Ford was then able to combine great manufacturing, interchangeable parts, a division of labor, and, finally in 1913, a continuous moving assembly line. Workers remained in place, adding one piece to each automobile as it moved past them on the line. Parts moved by conveyor belt to the workers and was carefully timed to keep the assembly line moving smoothly and efficiently. The introduction of the moving assembly line revolutionized automobile production by reducing assembly time per vehicle, which lowered the cost. Ford's production of Model Ts made his company the largest automobile manufacturer in the world. Henry Ford was a very smart man and had many techniques which made him successful. Henry Ford changed the world for everyone.
"Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently."
-Henry Ford
Transportation was on its way to change the lifestyles of Americans very rapidly. After two unsuccessful attempts to establish a company to manufacture automobiles, the Ford Motor Company was established in 1903 with Henry Ford as vice-president and chief engineer. The new company produced only a few cars a day with groups of two or three men working on each car. By 1918, half of all cars in America were Model Ts. To meet the growing demand for the Model T, the company opened a large factory at Highland Park, Michigan, in 1910. Henry Ford was then able to combine great manufacturing, interchangeable parts, a division of labor, and, finally in 1913, a continuous moving assembly line. Workers remained in place, adding one piece to each automobile as it moved past them on the line. Parts moved by conveyor belt to the workers and was carefully timed to keep the assembly line moving smoothly and efficiently. The introduction of the moving assembly line revolutionized automobile production by reducing assembly time per vehicle, which lowered the cost. Ford's production of Model Ts made his company the largest automobile manufacturer in the world. Henry Ford was a very smart man and had many techniques which made him successful. Henry Ford changed the world for everyone.
"Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently."
-Henry Ford