Henry Ford needs no introduction with Mustang Monthly readers. However, it is important to recognize what he did and how he did it.
Born in 1863 in Greenfield Township outside of Detroit, Michigan, Henry Ford was an ambitious young man. He cultivated fabrication skills at a very young age, learning how to repair pocket watches and becoming well known for his abilities. He grew up on the family farm where it was expected he'd remain throughout his life. Truth is, Henry Ford hated farming and couldn't wait to get off the farm. When he was old enough, he went to work in a machine shop in Detroit where he further developed his skills and his reputation for innovation and making things. When he returned to the family farm later on, he developed a love for steam engines, which came from working on the Westinghouse steam engine located on the farm. He'd later go to work for Westinghouse Steam Engines as a mechanic.
In 1888, Ford would marry Clara Ala Bryant, supporting the family by working on the farm and running a saw mill. With a burning desire to get off the farm, Ford would go to work for Thomas Edison at the Edison Illuminating Company in 1891. These men would develop a close friendship that would last a lifetime. At Edison, Ford was able to advance his skills as chief engineer. As chief engineer, he had the freedom to develop products not always connected to what Edison did. The greatest example was the Quadricycle in 1896 - truly the first Ford automobile. Ford continued to improve and refine the Quadricycle in the years to follow. In 1899, Ford went out on his own, founding the Detroit Automobile Company with the support of William H. Murphy, a lumber baron. This venture didn't last long, ending in 1901.
Henry Ford continued working toward a practical automobile that could be sold to the masses. In 1901, with the support of C. Harold Willis, William Murphy, and Henry Leland, Ford founded the Henry Ford Company. Ford, offended by the arrival of Henry Leland as a consultant, left the Henry Ford Company in 1902. Murphy would later change the name to Cadillac Automobile Company.
In 1902, Henry Ford would build the legendary "999" race car and enlist Barney Oldfield to pilot his 80 horsepower creation. Ford owes its very roots to automobile racing, which where the company got its start more than a century ago. Alexander Malcomson stepped up and backed Ford's efforts, forming Ford & Malcomson, Ltd in 1902. The Dodge brothers - Horace and John - became key suppliers to Ford & Malcolmson. On June 13, 1903, Ford & Malcolmson was renamed Ford Motor Company.
It wouldn't be until 1908 when Ford introduced the Model T, the first affordable automobile available to the masses. In fact, the first real mass production automobile and also the first automobile with a steering wheel on the left.
In the years following 1908, Ford amassed a huge dealer network across North America. By 1918, nearly half of all automobiles sold in the United States were Ford Model Ts. By 1927, Ford had sold more than 15 million Model Ts.
In 1918, Henry Ford made his son, Edsel, president of Ford Motor Company in order to pursue other interests. Young Edsel pushed hard for things we take for granted today - like consumer credit and additional features that would make the Model T more marketable. Henry disagreed with both ideas.
Ford introduced the Model A in 1927 - a vast improvement over the Model T, which was suffering from declining sales due to increased competition. Henry Ford's goal was always to get and hire the best people, which made his standards among the toughest in a growing industry. In 1914, he paid an astounding $5 a day wage, double the average at that time. High standards, coupled with handsome pay, got Ford the best people in the industry.
Modern casting technique can be traced back to Henry Ford because he never gave up on his vision. His vision of a V-8 engine block made from a single casting was something engineers said couldn't be done. He instructed them to stay at it until it could be done. The result was the Ford flat head V-8 of 1932 that was in production until 1953.
Ford set the standard for labor in the automobile industry. He ran a tight ship, keeping a close eye on his employee's lives via investigators and something known as the Social Department at Ford. As this policy became objectionable to his people, Ford backed off. Yet, he never wavered from his standards. It wasn't long before labor unions began calling the shots and the romance between Ford and his people went right out the window.
Henry Ford would make history in ways outside of the car industry. In 1925, he would buy the Stout Metal Airplane Company and build the legendary Ford 4AT Trimotor made from a new metal known as Alclad - an aluminum alloy. Ford would build approximately 200 Trimotor airplanes before production ended. The Great Depression is what killed both the Trimotor and Ford Airplane Company. The Trimotor launched a new era in aviation on which today's high-speed air travel is based. You may not know this, but Ford's proving grounds in Dearborn, Michigan today was once an airport that delivered people to both Dearborn and Ford's own Dearborn Inn not far from World Headquarters and Ford's engineering campus.
It is certainly true Henry Ford was always against war and quite outspoken about it. Fate was never really on Ford's side of this argument, however. Ultimately, Ford would build war machines for both World War I and II. There was also a lot of pressure from Washington for Ford to run for public office. Despite the pressure, Ford was never elected to public office.
Son Edsel became very ill and died from cancer in 1943. The elder Ford, suffering from age related mental and physical deterioration, had to jump back in the saddle and run Ford, which took a huge toll on the company. It was then duties of running the company had to fall on his grandson, Henry Ford II, who took over in 1945 after leaving the United States Navy.