Inventor henry ford biography wikipedia

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It had four wire wheels that looked like heavy bicycle wheels, was steered with a tiller like a boat, and had only two forward speeds with no reverse.

A second car followed in 1898. Henry and his team borrowed concepts from watch makers, gun makers, bicycle makers, and meat packers, mixed them with their own ideas and by late 1913 they had developed a moving assembly line for automobiles.

Henry Ford took inspiration from the past, saw opportunities for the future, and believed in technology as a force for improving people's lives. The force of this explosion provides power to operate a vehicle or other machine. In 1896, he constructed his first model car, the Ford Quadricycle. Henry I retired to Fair Lane, his estate in Dearborn, where he died on April 7, 1947 at age 83.

Henry Ford’s Legacy

Henry Ford had laid the foundation of the twentieth century.

In internal combustion engines, the engine produces power by sucking in a mixture of gasoline and air and igniting it with a spark. It was, moreover, no guarantee for the future. By the end of 1893 he had built his first working gasoline engine. The success of these cars attracted additional financial backers, and on June 16, 1903 Henry incorporated his third automotive venture, Ford Motor Company.

The Innovator and Ford Motor Company

The early history of Ford Motor Company illustrates one of Henry Ford’s most important talents—an ability to identify and attract outstanding people.

Ford married Clara Bryant in 1888 and five years later welcomed their only child, son Edsel. Friends and neighbors were impressed and requested that he fix their timepieces too.

Unsatisfied with farm work, Ford left home at the age of 16 to take an apprenticeship as a machinist at a shipbuilding firm in Detroit. In 1893, his natural talents earned him a promotion to chief engineer.

All the while, Ford developed his plans for a horseless carriage.

But more than any other single individual, he was responsible for transforming the automobile from an invention of unknown utility into an innovation that profoundly shaped the 20th century and continues to affect our lives today.

Innovators change things. At age 16, the industrious Ford walked to Detroit to find work in its machine shops.

He expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler in the 1930s. Three years later he constructed his first horseless carriage, the Quadricycle. The lighting genius encouraged Ford to build a second, better model.

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Ford Motor Company

By 1898, Ford was awarded with his first patent for a carburetor.

He fought back with intimidation and violence, but was ultimately forced to sign a union contract in 1941.

When World War II began in 1939, Ford, who always hated war, fought to keep the United States from taking sides. In 1892, Ford built his first gasoline-powered buggy, which had a two-cylinder, four-horsepower engine.

inventor henry ford biography wikipedia

He wanted to know how things worked and, just as important, why they didn’t work. Demand for the affordable car soared; by 1927, fifteen million had been sold, and Ford was the leading auto manufacturer in the country.