A Biography Of Henry Ford

A Biography of Henry Ford


     Henry Ford was an American industrialist, best known for his pioneering

achievements in the automobile industry.  From humble beginnings he was able to

create a company that would rank as one of the giants of American and World

industry long after his death.  There is no doubt that Henry Ford was a

successful business man.  The Ford Motor Company, Henry Ford's legacy, has left

its mark on every continent in the world.  However, Ford didn't gain his success

solely on his innovation in the automobile industry.  He was a friend to the

middle class public as well as the workers in his factories.  For this he was

rewarded with financial success by the same people he looked out for.  Moreover,

he repeatedly gave back to society through donations, philanthropic foundations,

and the creation of organizations that would help to educate and benefit the

people. Henry Ford was a man who gained world-wide business success through his

innovative ideas, brilliant management skills, and down-to-earth tactics.


     Henry Ford was born on a farm near Dearborn, Michigan, on July 30, 1863,

and educated in district schools. He became a machinist's apprentice in Detroit

at the age of 16. From 1888 to 1899 he was a mechanical engineer, and later

chief engineer, with the Edison Illuminating Company. In 1893, after

experimenting for several years in his leisure hours, he completed the

construction of his first gasoline engine.  His first automobile was completed

in 1896.  The body was a small crude wooden box, it had a single seat, a

steering tiller, bicycle wheels, and an electric bell on the front.  In 1903 he

founded the Ford Motor Company.


     At first, like his competitors, he made cars that only the wealthy could

afford.  But later he came to believe that every man, no matter what his income,

should own a car.  This resulted in the inexpensive "Model T" in 1908.  It

brought great financial success to his company.  The Model T was in production

until 1927 when it was discontinued in favor of a more up-to-date model.  While

in production the company sold over 15 million cars. In 1913 Ford began using

standardized interchangeable parts and assembly-line techniques in his plant.

Although Ford neither originated nor was the first to employ such practices, he

was chiefly responsible for their general adoption and for the consequent great

expansion of American industry and the raising of the American standard of

living. By early 1914 this innovation, although greatly increasing productivity,

had resulted in a monthly labor turnover of 40 to 60 percent in his factory,

largely because of the unpleasant monotony of assembly-line work and repeated

increases in the production quotas assigned to workers.  Ford met this

difficulty by doubling the daily wage then standard in the industry, raising it

from about $2.50 to $5. The net result was increased stability in his labor

force and a substantial reduction in operating costs.  These factors, coupled

with the enormous increase in output made possible by new technological methods,

led to an increase in company profits from $30 million in 1914 to $60 million in

1916.


     Ford believed that most of the profits should be used to increase the

size of the company's factories.  This was an unusual practice at the time. The

other stockholders wanted to split the profits among themselves in the form of

dividends. Ford  didn't like opposition in his compan
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