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Henry was born in Michigan on July 30th 1863. His father, William Ford was born in County Cork, Ireland, to a family that was originally from Somerset, England. His mother, Mary Ford was born in Michigan as the youngest child of Belgian immigrants.
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Henry moved away from his family's farm to begin work in a factory in Detroit. He eventually went to work for Edison Illuminating Company.
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Henry married a girl from his hometown of Greenfield Township. They lived in Detroit, Michigan. Her name was Clara Ala Bryant. They had one child: Edsel Ford
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Henry's first automobile was called the Quadricycle because it had four wheels. He rode it through the streets of Detroit and it caused a lot of impression.
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Henry quit his position with the Edison Illuminating Company to work with Detroit Automobile Company. He soon became chief engineer.
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Ford opened his first car company in 1901, but he quickly resigned when there was a dispute among the bankers. In 1902 it became the Cadillac Motor Car Co.
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Henry Ford opened a second motor car company, calling it the Ford Motor Company. The first car produced was the Model A.
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A picture of the first car ever made by Ford Company.
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In 1908 Henry Ford began producing the Model T. It quickly became famous.
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Ford set up the first automobile assembly line, and the cars were made faster and cheaper than ever. This made the middle class society afford cars.
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Henry Ford set out for the U.S. Senate, but he was turned down.Although the nation was at war, Ford ran as a peace candidate and a strong supporter of the proposed League of Nations.Ford was defeated in a close election by the Republican candidate, Truman Newberry.
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By this year, Ford Motor Company was putting out more than 55% of the cars in the country.
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Ford decided to focus his efforts on more than just cars, and he ended up with an airplane called the Tri-Motor plane.
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Henry Ford successfully put out his first V-8 engine. It was the V-8 Ford.
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In spite of his earlier attempts to keep the company out of the union, Ford Motor Company joined UAW in 1941.
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Henry died in his home at the age of 83. He was a dedicated, hard worker who used his ideas to change America. Henry Ford was determined to build a simple, reliable and affordable car; a car the average American worker could afford. Out of this determination came the Model T and the assembly line - two innovations that revolutionized American society and molded the world we live in today.
