Henry Ford
Henry Ford, c. 1919
Born	July 30, 1863(1863-07-30) Greenfield Township, Dearborn, Michigan, U.S.
Died	April 7, 1947 (aged 83) Fair Lane, Dearborn, Michigan, U.S.
Occupation	Business
Net worth	▲$188. Events 1419 - First Defenestration of Prague. 1502 - Christopher Columbus lands at Guanaja in the Bay Islands off Year 1863 ( MDCCCLXIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Greenfield is a former Civil township of Wayne County, Michigan which was completely annexed into the City of Detroit, Michigan and Dearborn is a city in the US state of Michigan. It is located in the Detroit metropolitan area and Wayne County, and is the tenth largest The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Events 529 - First draft of Corpus Juris Civilis (a fundamental work in Jurisprudence) is issued by Eastern Roman Emperor Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Fair Lane was the name of Henry Ford and Clara Ford 's estate in Dearborn Michigan. Dearborn is a city in the US state of Michigan. It is located in the Detroit metropolitan area and Wayne County, and is the tenth largest The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A business (also called firm or an enterprise) is a legally recognized organizational entity designed to provide goods and/or services to 1 billion, according to Wealthy historical figures 2008, based on infomation from Forbes – February 2008. The list of the most wealthy historical figures of 2008 is based on research done around the world by Forbes magazine in 2007 and other sources of information and has been Forbes is an American Publishing and media company Its flagship publication Forbes magazine is published bi-weekly
Spouse	Clara Jane Bryant
Children	Edsel Ford
Parents	William Ford and Mary Ford

Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was the American founder of the Ford Motor Company and father of modern assembly lines used in mass production. Edsel Bryant Ford ( November 6, 1893 &ndash May 26, 1943) son of Henry Ford, was born in Detroit. Events 1419 - First Defenestration of Prague. 1502 - Christopher Columbus lands at Guanaja in the Bay Islands off Year 1863 ( MDCCCLXIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 529 - First draft of Corpus Juris Civilis (a fundamental work in Jurisprudence) is issued by Eastern Roman Emperor Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following An assembly line is a Manufacturing process in which parts (usually Interchangeable parts) are added to a product in a sequential manner using optimally planned Mass production (also called flow production, repetitive flow production, series production, or serial production) is the production of His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry. The Ford Model T (colloquially known as the Tin Lizzie and also the Flivver) was an Automobile produced by Henry Ford 's Ford Vehicles that can be considered Automobiles were demonstrated as early as 1769 although that date is disputed 1806 marked the introduction of Fuel gas powered Internal He was a prolific inventor and was awarded 161 U. S. patents. A patent is a set of Exclusive rights granted by a State to an inventor or his assignee for a fixed period of time in exchange for a disclosure of an As owner of the Ford Company he became one of the richest and best-known people in the world. He is credited with "Fordism", that is, the mass production of large numbers of inexpensive automobiles using the assembly line, coupled with high wages for his workers. Fordism, named after Henry Ford, refers to various social theories. Ford had a global vision, with consumerism as the key to peace. Ford did not believe in accountants; he amassed one of the world's largest fortunes without ever having his company audited under his administration. The most general definition of an audit is an evaluation of a person organization system process project or product Henry Ford's intense commitment to lowering costs resulted in many technical and business innovations, including a franchise system that put a dealership in every city in North America, and in major cities on six continents. Ford left most of his vast wealth to the Ford Foundation but arranged for his family to control the company permanently. The Ford Foundation is a Private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by

Contents 1 Early years 2 Ford Motor Company 2.1 Model T 2.2 "Model A" and Ford's later career 2.3 Labor philosophy 2.4 Labor Unions 3 Ford Airplane Company 3.1 Willow Run 4 Pacifism 4.1 World War I era 4.2 World War II era 5 Dearborn Independent 6 International business 7 Racing 8 Later career 9 Death 10 Sidelights 10.1 Interest in materials science and engineering 10.2 Georgia residence and community 10.3 Preserving Americana in museums and villages 10.4 The "invention of the automobile" 10.5 The "invention of the assembly line" 10.6 Miscellaneous 11 Popular culture 12 Honors 13 See also 14 Notes 15 References 15.1 Memoirs by Ford Motor Company principals 15.2 Biographies 15.3 Specialized studies 15.4 Further reading 16 External links

Early years

Ford was born July 30, 1863, on a farm next to a rural town west of Detroit, Michigan (this area is now part of Dearborn, Michigan). Events 1419 - First Defenestration of Prague. 1502 - Christopher Columbus lands at Guanaja in the Bay Islands off Year 1863 ( MDCCCLXIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Dearborn is a city in the US state of Michigan. It is located in the Detroit metropolitan area and Wayne County, and is the tenth largest ^[1] His father, William Ford (1826–1905), was born in County Cork, Ireland. William Ford ( December 10, 1826 &ndash March 8, 1905) was an Irish -born American Businessman. County Cork (Contae Chorcaí is the most southerly and the largest of the modern counties of Ireland. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world His mother, Mary Litogot Ford (1839–1876), was born in Michigan; she was the youngest child of Belgian immigrants; her parents died when Mary was a child and she was adopted by neighbors, the O'Herns. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those Henry Ford's siblings include Margaret Ford (1867–1868); Jane Ford (c. 1868–1945); William Ford (1871–1917) and Robert Ford (1873–1934).

His father gave Henry a pocket watch in his early teens. At fifteen, Ford dismantled and reassembled the timepieces of friends and neighbors dozens of times, gaining the reputation of a watch repairman. ^[2] At twenty, Ford walked four miles to church every Sunday. ^[3]

Ford was devastated when his mother died in 1876. His father expected him to eventually take over the family farm but Henry despised farm work. He told his father, "I never had any particular love for the farm—it was the mother on the farm I loved. "^[4]

In 1879, he left home to work as an apprentice machinist in the city of Detroit, first with James F. Flower & Bros. , and later with the Detroit Dry Dock Co. In 1882, he returned to Dearborn to work on the family farm and became adept at operating the Westinghouse portable steam engine. A steam engine is a Heat engine that performs Mechanical work using Steam as its Working fluid. He was later hired by Westinghouse company to service their steam engines. Founded in 1886 as Westinghouse Electric Company and later renamed Westinghouse Electric Corporation by George Westinghouse.

Ford married Clara Ala Bryant (c. 1865–1950) in 1888 and supported himself by farming and running a sawmill. ^[5] They had a single child: Edsel Bryant Ford (1893-1943). Edsel Bryant Ford ( November 6, 1893 &ndash May 26, 1943) son of Henry Ford, was born in Detroit. ^[6]

In 1891, Ford became an engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company, and after his promotion to Chief Engineer in 1893, he had enough time and money to devote attention to his personal experiments on gasoline engines. The Edison Illuminating Company was established by Thomas Edison on December 17, 1880, to construct electrical generating stations initially in New These experiments culminated in 1896 with the completion of his own self-propelled vehicle named the Ford Quadricycle, which he test-drove on June 4. The Ford Quadricycle was the first Ford vehicle ever developed which led Henry Ford to build his empire Events 781 BC - The first historic Solar eclipse is recorded in China. After various test-drives, Ford brainstormed ways to improve the Quadricycle. ^[7]

Also in 1896, Ford attended a meeting of Edison executives, where he was introduced to Thomas Edison. Edison approved of Ford's automobile experimentation; encouraged by Edison's approval, Ford designed and built a second vehicle, which was completed in 1898. ^[8] Backed by the capital of Detroit lumber baron William H. A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a mogul, tycoon, baron, or industrialist, is a person who has reached a prominent place in Murphy, Ford resigned from Edison and founded the Detroit Automobile Company on August 5, 1899. The Detroit Automobile Company (DAC was an early American automobile manufacturer founded on August 5, 1899, in Detroit, Michigan Events 642 - Battle of Maserfield - Penda of Mercia defeats and kills Oswald of Bernicia. Year 1899 ( MDCCCXCIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common ^[9] However, the automobiles produced were of a lower quality and higher price than Ford liked. Ultimately, the company was not successful and was dissolved in January 1901. ^[9]

With the help of C. Harold Wills, Ford designed, built, and successfully raced a twenty six horsepower automobile in October 1901. Childe Harold Wills (June 1 1878 - December 30 1940 also known as C With this success, Murphy and other stockholders in the Detroit Automobile Company formed the Henry Ford Company on November 30, 1901, with Ford as chief engineer. The Henry Ford Company was the second company for Henry Ford, founded November 3 1901 Events 1700 - Battle of Narva — A Swedish army of 8500 men under Charles XII defeats Year 1901 ( MCMI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting ^[10] However, Murphy brought in Henry M. Leland as a consultant. Henry Martyn Leland ( 16 February, 1843 - 26 March, 1932) (born Barton Vermont, died Detroit Michigan) was a machinist As a result, Ford left the company bearing his name in 1902. With Ford gone, Murphy renamed the company the Cadillac Automobile Company. Cadillac is a Brand of Luxury vehicles owned by General Motors. ^[10]

Ford also produced the 80+ horsepower racer "999", and getting Barney Oldfield to drive it to victory in October 1902. Berna Eli "Barney" Oldfield ( June 3, 1878 &ndash October 4, 1946) was an Automobile racer and pioneer Ford received the backing of an old acquaintance, Alexander Y. Malcomson, a Detroit-area coal dealer. Alexander Y Malcomson (1865 - 1923 was a coal dealer from Detroit who bankrolled Henry Ford 's first successful foray into automobile manufacturing the Ford ^[10] They formed a partnership, "Ford & Malcomson, Ltd. " to manufacture automobiles. Ford went to work designing an inexpensive automobile, and the duo leased a factory and contracted with a machine shop owned by John and Horace E. Dodge to supply over $160,000 in parts. John Francis Dodge ( October 25, 1864 - January 14, 1920) was an American Automobile manufacturing pioneer and co-founder Horace Elgin Dodge ( May 17, 1868 — December 10, 1920) was an American automobile manufacturing pioneer and co-founder of Dodge ^[10] Sales were slow, and a crisis arose when the Dodge brothers demanded payment for their first shipment.

Ford Motor Company

In response, Malcomson brought in another group of investors and convinced the Dodge Brothers to accept a portion of the new company. ^[11] Ford & Malcomson was reincorporated as the Ford Motor Company on June 16, 1903,^[11] with $28,000 capital. Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following Events 1487 - Battle of Stoke Field, the last dying breath of the Wars of the Roses. Year 1903 ( MCMIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar or a Common year starting The original investors included Ford and Malcomson, the Dodge brothers, Malcomson's uncle John S. Gray, Horace Rackham, and James Couzens. Horace H Rackham (June 27 1858 - June 12 1933 was one of the original stockholders in the Ford Motor Company and a noted Philanthropist. James J Couzens ( August 26, 1872 &ndash October 22, 1936) was a U In a newly designed car, Ford gave an exhibition on the ice of Lake St. Clair, driving 1 mile (1. Lake St Clair ( French Lac Sainte-Claire) is a Lake that lies between Ontario, Canada, and Michigan in the 6 km) in 39. 4 seconds, setting a new land speed record at 91. The land speed record is the fastest speed achieved by any wheeled vehicle on land as opposed to one on water or in the air or on rails. 3 miles per hour (147. 0 km/h). Convinced by this success, the race driver Barney Oldfield, who named this new Ford model "999" in honor of a racing locomotive of the day, took the car around the country, making the Ford brand known throughout the United States. Berna Eli "Barney" Oldfield ( June 3, 1878 &ndash October 4, 1946) was an Automobile racer and pioneer Ford also was one of the early backers of the Indianapolis 500. The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, often shortened to Indianapolis 500 or Indy 500, and historically known simply as "The 500" is an American

Ford astonished the world in 1914 by offering a $5 per day wage, which more than doubled the rate of most of his workers. The move proved extremely profitable; instead of constant turnover of employees, the best mechanics in Detroit flocked to Ford, bringing in their human capital and expertise, raising productivity, and lowering training costs. Ford called it "wage motive. " The company's use of vertical integration also proved successful when Ford built a gigantic factory that shipped in raw materials and shipped out finished automobiles. In Microeconomics and Management, the term vertical integration describes a style of Management control.

Model T

The Model T was introduced on October 1, 1908. The Ford Model T (colloquially known as the Tin Lizzie and also the Flivver) was an Automobile produced by Henry Ford 's Ford Events 331 BC - Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela. Year 1908 ( MCMVIII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year It had the steering wheel on the left, which every other company soon copied and is standard today. The entire engine and transmission were enclosed; the four cylinders were cast in a solid block; the suspension used two semi-elliptic springs.

The car was very simple to drive, and easy and cheap to repair. It was so cheap at $825 in 1908 (the price fell every year) that by the 1920s a majority of American drivers learned to drive on the Model T.

Ford created a massive publicity machine in Detroit to ensure every newspaper carried stories and ads about the new product. Ford's network of local dealers made the car ubiquitous in virtually every city in North America. As independent dealers, the franchises grew rich and publicized not just the Ford but the very concept of automobiling; local motor clubs sprang up to help new drivers and to explore the countryside. Ford was always eager to sell to farmers, who looked on the vehicle as a commercial device to help their business. Sales skyrocketed—several years posted 100% gains on the previous year. Always on the hunt for more efficiency and lower costs, in 1913 Ford introduced the moving assembly belts into his plants, which enabled an enormous increase in production. Although Henry Ford is often credited with the idea, contemporary sources indicate that the concept and its development came from employees Clarence Avery, Peter E. Martin, Charles E. Sorensen, and C. Harold Wills. Clarence Willard Avery ( February 15, 1882 – May 13, 1949) was a driving force behind Ford Motor Company 's moving Assembly line Peter Edmund (Ed Martin (born Wallaceburg Ontario 1888 died Detroit Michigan, 1944 was a leading early production executive of the Ford Motor Company Charles Emil Sorensen ( 7 September 1881 - 11 August 1968) was a Danish-American principal of the Ford Motor Company during its first Childe Harold Wills (June 1 1878 - December 30 1940 also known as C (See Piquette Plant)

Sales passed 250,000 in 1914. The Ford Piquette Avenue Plant is located at 411 Piquette Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, within the Piquette Avenue Industrial Historic District By 1916, as the price dropped to $360 for the basic touring car, sales reached 472,000. ^[12]

By 1918, half of all cars in America were Model T's. However, it was a monolithic block; as Ford wrote in his autobiography, "Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black". ^[13] Until the development of the assembly line, which mandated black because of its quicker drying time, Model T's were available in other colors including red. The design was fervently promoted and defended by Ford, and production continued as late as 1927; the final total production was 15,007,034. Year 1927 ( MCMXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. This record stood for the next 45 years.

President Woodrow Wilson asked Ford to run as a Democrat for the United States Senate from Michigan in 1918. Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28 1856—February 3 1924 was the twenty-eighth President of the United States. The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives Although the nation was at war, Ford ran as a peace candidate and a strong supporter of the proposed League of Nations. The League of Nations was an International organization founded as a result of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919–1920 ^[14]

Henry Ford turned the presidency of Ford Motor Company over to his son Edsel Ford in December 1918. Edsel Bryant Ford ( November 6, 1893 &ndash May 26, 1943) son of Henry Ford, was born in Detroit. Henry, however, retained final decision authority and sometimes reversed his son. Henry started another company, Henry Ford and Son, and made a show of taking himself and his best employees to the new company; the goal was to scare the remaining holdout stockholders of the Ford Motor Company to sell their stakes to him before they lost most of their value. (He was determined to have full control over strategic decisions). The ruse worked, and Henry and Edsel purchased all remaining stock from the other investors, thus giving the family sole ownership of the company.

By the mid-1920s, sales of the Model T began to decline due to rising competition. Other auto makers offered payment plans through which consumers could buy their cars, which usually included more modern mechanical features and styling not available with the Model T. Despite urgings from Edsel, Henry steadfastly refused to incorporate new features into the Model T or to form a customer credit plan.

"Model A" and Ford's later career

By 1926, flagging sales of the Model T finally convinced Henry to make a new model. Henry pursued the project with a great deal of technical expertise in design of the engine, chassis, and other mechanical necessities, while leaving the body design to his son. Edsel also managed to prevail over his father's initial objections in the inclusion of a sliding-shift transmission.

The result was the successful Ford Model A, introduced in December 1927 and produced through 1931, with a total output of more than 4 million. Subsequently, the company adopted an annual model change system similar to that in use by automakers today. Not until the 1930s did Ford overcome his objection to finance companies, and the Ford-owned Universal Credit Corporation became a major car-financing operation. The Universal Credit Corporation was a financing entity for Ford cars that existed in the US in the 1930’s

Labor philosophy

Henry Ford was a pioneer of "welfare capitalism" designed to improve the lot of his workers and especially to reduce the heavy turnover that had many departments hiring 300 men per year to fill 100 slots. paternalism Welfare capitalism, started in the 19th century refers either to the combination of a capitalist economic system with a Welfare state or in a strictly American Efficiency meant hiring and keeping the best workers.

Ford announced his $5-per-day program on January 5, 1914. Events 1477 - Battle of Nancy: Charles the Bold is killed and Burgundy becomes part of France. Year 1914 ( MCMXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year The revolutionary program called for a raise in minimum daily pay from $2. 34 to $5 for qualifying workers. It also set a new, reduced workweek, although the details vary in different accounts. Ford and Crowther in 1922 described it as six 8-hour days, giving a 48-hour week,^[15] while in 1926 they described it as five 8-hour days, giving a 40-hour week. ^[16] (Apparently the program started with Saturdays as workdays and sometime later made them days off. ) Ford says that with this voluntary change, labor turnover in his plants went from huge to so small that he stopped bothering to measure it. ^[17]

When Ford started the 40-hour work week and a minimum wage he was criticized by other industrialists and by Wall Street. Wall Street is a street in lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. He proved, however, that paying people more would enable Ford workers to afford the cars they were producing and be good for the economy. Ford explained the change in part of the "Wages" chapter of My Life and Work. ^[18] He labeled the increased compensation as profit-sharing rather than wages.

The wage was offered to employees who had worked at the company for six months or more, and, importantly, conducted their lives in a manner of which Ford's "Social Department" approved. They frowned on heavy drinking, gambling, and what we today would call "deadbeat dads". The Social Department used 50 investigators, plus support staff, to maintain employee standards; a large percentage of workers were able to qualify for this "profit-sharing. "

Ford's incursion into his employees' private lives was highly controversial, and he soon backed off from the most intrusive aspects; by the time he wrote his 1922 memoir, he spoke of the Social Department and of the private conditions for profit-sharing in the past tense, and admitted that "paternalism has no place in industry. Welfare work that consists in prying into employees' private concerns is out of date. Men need counsel and men need help, oftentimes special help; and all this ought to be rendered for decency's sake. But the broad workable plan of investment and participation will do more to solidify industry and strengthen organization than will any social work on the outside. Without changing the principle we have changed the method of payment. "^[19]

Labor Unions

Ford was adamantly against labor unions. A trade union or labour union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas such as wages hours and working conditions forming He explained his views on unions in Chapter 18 of My Life and Work. ^[20] He thought they were too heavily influenced by some leaders who, despite their ostensible good motives, would end up doing more harm than good for workers. Most wanted to restrict productivity as a means to foster employment, but Ford saw this as self-defeating because, in his view, productivity was necessary for any economic prosperity to exist.

He believed that productivity gains that obviated certain jobs would nevertheless stimulate the larger economy and thus grow new jobs elsewhere, whether within the same corporation or in others. Ford also believed that union leaders (most particularly Leninist-leaning ones) had a perverse incentive to foment perpetual socio-economic crisis as a way to maintain their own power. Meanwhile, he believed that smart managers had an incentive to do right by their workers, because doing so would actually maximize their own profits. (Ford did acknowledge, however, that many managers were basically too bad at managing to understand this fact. ) But Ford believed that eventually, if good managers such as himself could successfully fend off the attacks of misguided people from both left and right (i. e. , both socialists and bad-manager reactionaries), the good managers would create a socio-economic system wherein neither bad management nor bad unions could find enough support to continue existing.

To forestall union activity Ford promoted Harry Bennett, a former Navy boxer, to head the Service Department. Harry Bennett (1892-1979 a former boxer and ex-Navy sailor was an executive at Ford Motor Company during the 1930’s and 1940’s Bennett employed various intimidation tactics to squash union organizing. The most famous incident, in 1937, was a bloody brawl between company security men and organizers that became known as The Battle of the Overpass. The Battle of the Overpass was an incident on 26 May, 1937, in which labor organizers clashed with Ford Motor Company Security guards The

In the late 1930s and early 1940s, Edsel (who was president of the company) thought it was necessary for Ford to come to some sort of collective bargaining agreement with the unions, because the violence, work disruptions, and bitter stalemates could not go on forever. Collective bargaining is the process whereby workers organize together to meet converse and compromise upon the work environment with their employers But Henry (who still had the final veto in the company on a de facto basis even if not an official one) refused to cooperate. For several years, he kept Bennett in charge of talking to the unions that were trying to organize the Ford company. Sorensen's memoir^[21] makes clear that Henry's purpose in putting Bennett in charge was to make sure no agreements were ever reached.

The Ford company was the last Detroit automaker to recognize the United Auto Workers union (UAW). Template talkInfobox Union for usage -->The United Automobile Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America International A sit-down strike by the UAW union in April 1941 closed the River Rouge Plant. Sorensen said^[22] a distraught Henry Ford was very close to following through with a threat to break up the company rather than cooperate but that his wife, Clara, told him she would leave him if he destroyed the family business that she wanted to see her son and grandsons lead into the future. Henry complied with his wife's ultimatum, and Ford went literally overnight from the most stubborn holdout among automakers to the one with the most favorable UAW contract terms. The contract was signed in June 1941.

Ford Airplane Company

Ford, like other automobile companies, entered the aviation business during World War I, building Liberty engines. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All After the war, it returned to auto manufacturing until 1925, when Henry Ford acquired the Stout Metal Airplane Company.

Ford's most successful aircraft was the Ford 4AT Trimotor — called the “Tin Goose” because of its corrugated metal construction. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout It used a new alloy called Alclad that combined the corrosion resistance of aluminum with the strength of duralumin. Duralumin (also called duraluminum, duraluminium or dural) is the trade name of one of the earliest types of age-hardenable Aluminium alloys The plane was similar to Fokker's V. Fokker was a Dutch Aircraft manufacturer named after its founder Anthony Fokker. VII-3m, and some say that Ford's engineers surreptitiously measured the Fokker plane and then copied it. The Trimotor first flew on June 11, 1926, and was the first successful U. Events 1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned according to the calculations of Eratosthenes. Year 1926 ( MCMXXVI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. S. passenger airliner, accommodating about 12 passengers in a rather uncomfortable fashion. Several variants were also used by the U.S. Army. The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. Henry Ford has been honored by the Smithsonian Institution for changing the aviation industry. The Smithsonian Institution (smɪθsoʊnɪən is an educational and research institute and associated Museum complex administered and funded by the Government of About 200 Trimotors were built before it was discontinued in 1933, when the Ford Airplane Division shut down because of poor sales during the Great Depression.

Willow Run

President Franklin D. Roosevelt referred to Detroit as the "Arsenal of Democracy. " The Arsenal of Democracy " is one of the 30 Fireside chats broadcast on the Radio by U " The Ford Motor Company played a pivotal role in the Allied victory during World War I and World War II. The Entente Powers (from Triple Entente) were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including ^[23] With Europe under siege, the Ford company's genius turned to mass production for the war effort. Specifically, Ford examined the B-24 Liberator bomber, still the most-produced Allied bomber in history, which quickly shifted the balance of power. The Allies of World War II were the countries officially opposed to the Axis powers during the Second World War.

Before Ford, and under optimal conditions, the aviation industry could produce one Consolidated Aircraft B-24 Bomber a day at an aircraft plant. Ford showed the world how to produce one B-24 an hour at a peak of 600 per month in 24-hour shifts. Ford's Willow Run factory broke ground in April 1941. At the time, it was the largest assembly plant in the world, with over 3,500,000 square feet (330,000 m²). The square foot is an Imperial unit / US customary unit (non- SI non- metric) of Area, used mainly in the United States M^2 redirects here For other uses see M². CM2 redirects here

Mass production of the B-24, led by Charles Sorensen and later Mead Bricker, began by August 1943. Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Many pilots slept on cots waiting for takeoff as the B-24 rolled off the assembly line at Ford's Willow Run facility. ^[24]

Pacifism

World War I era

Henry Ford was an Episcopalian Christian who opposed war, which he thought was a waste of time. The Episcopal Church is the official name of the Province of the Anglican Communion in the United States. ^[25][26][27] Ford became highly critical of those who he felt financed war, and he seemed to do whatever he could to stop them. He felt time was better spent making things.

In 1915, Jewish pacifist Rosika Schwimmer had gained the favor of Henry Ford, who agreed to fund a peace ship to Europe, where World War I was raging, for himself and about 170 other prominent peace leaders. Judaism (from the Greek Ioudaïsmos, derived from the Hebrew יהודה Yehudah, " Judah " in Hebrew יַהֲדוּת Yahedut Rosika Schwimmer or Bédy-Schwimmer "Rózsa" Rózsika (1877-1948 was a Hungarian -born Pacifist, Feminist and female suffragist Ford's Episcopalian pastor, Reverend Samuel S. Marquis, accompanied him on the mission. Marquis also headed Ford's Sociology Department from 1913 to 1921. Ford talked to President Wilson about the mission but had no government support. His group went to neutral Sweden and the Netherlands to meet with peace activists there. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands As a target of much ridicule, he left the ship as soon as it reached Sweden.

An article G. K. Chesterton wrote for the December 12, 1916, issue of Illustrated London News, shows why Ford's effort was ridiculed. Gilbert Keith Chesterton (29 May 1874 – 14 June 1936 was an influential English writer of the early 20th century Events 627 - Battle of Nineveh: A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeats Emperor Khosrau II 's Persian Year 1916 ( MCMXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Referring to Ford as "the celebrated American comedian," Chesterton noted that Ford had been quoted claiming, "I believe that the sinking of the Lusitania was deliberately planned to get this country [America] into war. Construction and trials Owned by the Cunard Steamship Company built by John Brown and Company Lusitania was named for the ancient Roman province of It was planned by the financiers of war. " Chesterton expressed "difficulty in believing that bankers swim under the sea to cut holes in the bottoms of ships," and asked why, if what Ford said was true, Germany took responsibility for the sinking and "defended what it did not do. " Mr. Ford's efforts, he concluded, "queer the pitch" of "more plausible and presentable" pacifists.

On the other hand H.G. Wells, in "The Shape of Things to Come", devoted an entire chapter to the Ford Peace Ship, stating that "despite its failure, this effort to stop the war will be remembered when the generals and their battles and senseless slaughter are forgotten. Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 &ndash 13 August 1946 He was an outspoken socialist and a pacifist, his later works becoming increasingly political The Shape of Things to Come is a work of Science fiction by H " Wells claimed that the American armaments industry and banks, who made enormous profits from selling munitions to the warring European nations, deliberately spread lies in order to cause the failure of Ford's peace efforts. He noted, however, that when the U. S. entered the war in 1917, Ford took part and made considerable profits from the sale of munitions.

The episode was fictionalized by the British novelist Douglas Galbraith in his novel King Henry. ^[28]

World War II era

Ford and Adolf Hitler admired each other's achievements. ^[29] Adolf Hitler kept a life-size portrait of Ford next to his desk. Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently vandalized and vandalism is reverted immediately ^[29] "I regard Henry Ford as my inspiration," Hitler told a Detroit News reporter two years before becoming the Chancellor of Germany in 1933. The Detroit News is one of the two major newspapers in the US The Head of government of Germany is called Chancellor (Kanzler ^[29] In July 1938, four months after the German annexation of Austria, Ford was awarded the Grand Cross of the German Eagle, the highest medal awarded by Nazi Germany to foreigners. The ( German: "link-up" also known as the, was the 1938 Annexation of Austria into Greater Germany by the Nazi The Order of the German Eagle (Verdienstorden vom Deutschen Adler was instituted in 1 May 1937 by Adolf Hitler. Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers ^[29]

Ford disliked the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and did not approve of U. S. involvement in the war. Therefore, from 1939 to 1943, the War Production Board's dealings with the Ford Motor Company were with others in the organization, such as Edsel Ford and Charles Sorensen, much more than with Henry Ford. During this time Henry Ford did not stop his executives from cooperating with Washington, but he himself did not get deeply involved. He watched, focusing on his own pet side projects, as the work progressed. ^[30] After the Edsel Ford's passing, Henry Ford resumed control of the company in 1943. Edsel Bryant Ford ( November 6, 1893 &ndash May 26, 1943) son of Henry Ford, was born in Detroit.

After years of the Great Depression, labor strife, and New Deal, he suspected people in Washington were conspiring to wrest the company from his control. The New Deal was the name that United States President Franklin D Ironically, his paranoia was trending toward self-fulfilling prophesy, as his attitude inspired background chatter in Washington about how to undermine his control of the company, whether by wartime government fiat or by instigating some sort of coup among executives and directors. ^[31] In 1945, the war ended, Henry Ford II became company president, and the storm was past. Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar Henry Ford II ( September 4, 1917 — September 29, 1987) commonly known as "HF2" and "Hank the Deuce" was the son

Dearborn Independent

In 1918, Ford's closest aide and private secretary, Ernest G. Liebold, purchased an obscure weekly newspaper, The Dearborn Independent for Ford. The Dearborn Independent, also dubbed The Ford International Weekly, was a newspaper established in 1901 but published by Henry Ford from 1919 Henry Ford ( July 30, 1863 &ndash April 7, 1947) was the American founder of the Ford Motor Company and father of The Dearborn Independent, also dubbed The Ford International Weekly, was a newspaper established in 1901 but published by Henry Ford from 1919 The Independent ran for eight years, from 1920 until 1927, during which Liebold was editor. The newspaper published "Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion," which was discredited by The Times of London as a forgery during the Independent's publishing run. The Protocols of the Elders of Zion ( Protocols of the wise men of Zion, Library of Congress 's Uniform Title; "Протоколы The Times is a daily national Newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register. The American Jewish Historical Society described the ideas presented in the magazine as "anti-immigrant, anti-labor, anti-liquor, and anti-Semitic. The American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS was founded in 1892 with the mission to foster awareness and appreciation of the American Jewish heritage and to serve Nativism is an Opposition to immigration which originated in United States politics with roots in the country's historic role as a Melting pot. Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism; also rarely known as judeophobia) is the Prejudice against or hostility " In February 1921, the New York World published an interview with Ford, in which he said "The only statement I care to make about the Protocols is that they fit in with what is going on. The New York World was a Newspaper published in New York from 1860 until 1931 " During this period, Ford emerged as "a respected spokesman for right-wing extremism and religious prejudice," reaching around 700,000 readers through his newspaper. ^[32]

Along with the Protocols, anti-Jewish articles published by The Dearborn Independent also were released in the early 1920s as a set of four bound volumes, cumulatively titled The International Jew, the World's Foremost Problem. The International Jew is a four volume set of Booklets or Pamphlets originally published and distributed in the early 1920s by Henry Vincent Curcio wrote of these publications that "they were widely distributed and had great influence, particularly in Nazi Germany, where no less a personage than Adolf Hitler read and admired them. Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently vandalized and vandalism is reverted immediately " Hitler, fascinated with automobiles, hung Ford's picture on his wall; Ford is the only American mentioned in Hitler's book. Steven Watts wrote that Hitler "revered" Ford, proclaiming that "I shall do my best to put his theories into practice in Germany, and modeling the Volkswagen, the people's car, on the model T. "^[33]

Denounced by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the articles nevertheless explicitly condemned pogroms and violence against Jews (Volume 4, Chapter 80), preferring to blame incidents of mass violence on the Jews themselves. The Anti-Defamation League ( ADL) is an Interest group founded in 1913 by B'nai B'rith in the United States whose stated aim is "to stop A pogrom is a form of Riot directed against a particular group whether ethnic religious or other and characterized by destruction of their Homes Businesses ^[34] None of this work was actually written by Ford, who wrote almost nothing according to trial testimony. Friends and business associates have said they warned Ford about the contents of the Independent and that he probably never read them. (He claimed he only read the headlines. )^[35] However, court testimony in a libel suit, brought by one of the targets of the newspaper, alleged that Ford did know about the contents of the Independent in advance of publication. ^[36]

A libel lawsuit brought by San Francisco lawyer and Jewish farm cooperative organizer Aaron Sapiro in response to anti-Semitic remarks led Ford to close the Independent in December 1927. The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city Aaron Leland Sapiro (1884–1959 was a Jewish American cooperative Activist and Lawyer and major leader of the farmers' movement during the News reports at the time quoted him as being shocked by the content and having been unaware of its nature. During the trial, the editor of Ford's "Own Page," William Cameron, testified that Ford had nothing to do with the editorials even though they were under his byline. Cameron testified at the libel trial that he never discussed the content of the pages or sent them to Ford for his approval. ^[37] Investigative journalist Max Wallace noted that "whatever credibility this absurd claim may have had was soon undermined when James M. Miller, a former Dearborn Independent employee, swore under oath that Ford had told him he intended to expose Sapiro. "^[36]

Michael Barkun observed, "That Cameron would have continued to publish such controversial material without Ford's explicit instructions seemed unthinkable to those who knew both men. Mrs. Stanley Ruddiman, a Ford family intimate, remarked that 'I don't think Mr. Cameron ever wrote anything for publication without Mr. Ford's approval. '"^[38] According to Spencer Blakeslee,

The ADL mobilized prominent Jews and non-Jews to publicly oppose Ford's message. They formed a coalition of Jewish groups for the same purpose and raised constant objections in the Detroit press. Before leaving his presidency early in 1921, Woodrow Wilson joined other leading Americans in a statement that rebuked Ford and others for their antisemitic campaign. A boycott against Ford products by Jews and liberal Christians also had an impact, and Ford shut down the paper in 1927, recanting his views in a public letter to Sigmund Livingston, ADL. Sigmund Livingston was an Jewish Attorney from Chicago, Illinois. ^[39]

Ford's 1927 apology had been well received, "Four-Fifths of the hundreds of letters addressed to Ford in July of 1927 were from Jews, and almost without exception they praised the Industrialist. "^[40] In January 1937, a Ford statement to the Detroit Jewish Chronicle disavowed "any connection whatsoever with the publicaton in Germany of a book known as the International Jew. "^[40]

In July 1938, prior to the outbreak of war, the German consul at Cleveland gave Ford, on his 75th birthday, the award of the Grand Cross of the German Eagle, the highest medal Nazi Germany could bestow on a foreigner,^[41] while James D. Cleveland is a City in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state The Order of the German Eagle (Verdienstorden vom Deutschen Adler was instituted in 1 May 1937 by Adolf Hitler. Mooney, vice-president of overseas operations for General Motors, received a similar medal, the Merit Cross of the German Eagle, First Class. General Motors Corporation ( GM) ( is a multinational automobile manufacturer founded in 1908 and headquartered in the United States. ^[42]

Distribution of International Jew was halted in 1942 through legal action by Ford despite complications from a lack of copyright,^[40] but extremist groups often recycle the material; it still appears on antisemitic and neo-Nazi websites. Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism; also rarely known as judeophobia) is the Prejudice against or hostility The term neo-Nazism refers to post- World War II Political movements Social movements and ideologies seeking to revive Nazism,

One Jewish personality who was said to have been friendly with Ford is Detroit Judge Harry Keidan. When asked about this connection, Ford replied that Keidan was only half-Jewish. A close collaborator of Henry Ford during World War II reported that Ford, at the time being more than 80 years old, was shown a movie of the Nazi concentration camps. Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people commonly in large groups without trial ^[43]

International business

Ford's philosophy was one of economic independence for the United States. His River Rouge Plant became the world's largest industrial complex, even able to produce its own steel. Ford's goal was to produce a vehicle from scratch without reliance on foreign trade. He believed in the global expansion of his company. He believed that international trade and cooperation led to international peace, and he used the assembly line process and production of the Model T to demonstrate it. ^[44] He opened Ford assembly plants in Britain and Canada in 1911, and soon became the biggest automotive producer in those countries. In 1912, Ford cooperated with Agnelli of Fiat to launch the first Italian automotive assembly plants. Agnelli is a surname and can refer to Members of the Agnelli family of Italy including Giovanni Agnelli (1866-1945 Italian manufacturer Fiat SpA (an Acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino (Italian Automobile Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer The first plants in Germany were built in the 1920s with the encouragement of Herbert Hoover and the Commerce Department, which agreed with Ford's theory that international trade was essential to world peace. Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10 1874 &ndash October 20 1964 was the thirty-first President of the United States (1929–1933 ^[45] In the 1920s Ford also opened plants in Australia, India, and France, and by 1929, he had successful dealerships on six continents. Ford experimented with a commercial rubber plantation in the Amazon jungle called Fordlândia; it was one of the few failures. The Amazon Rainforest (Brazilian Portuguese: Floresta Amazônica or Amazônia; Spanish: Selva Amazónica or Amazonía Fordlândia ("Ford-land" was a vast tract of land purchased by American automobile tycoon Henry Ford in the 1920s In 1929, Ford accepted Stalin's invitation to build a model plant (NNAZ, today GAZ) at Gorky, a city later renamed Nizhny Novgorod, and he sent American engineers and technicians to help set it up, including future labor leader Walter Reuther. Joseph Stalin ( ნამდვილი გვარი ჯუღაშვილი|Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili; March 5 1953 was General Secretary of the Communist Party GAZ (RTSGAZA or Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod ( Russia, Nizhny Novgorod) translated as Gorky Automobile Plant (ГАЗ or Го́рьковский автомоби́льный Nizhny Novgorod (Ни́жний Но́вгород Nižnij Novgorod) colloquially shortened as Nizhny, is the fourth largest city in Russia For the Baseball player Walter Ruether see Dutch Ruether. Walter Philip Reuther ( September 1, 1907 –

The technical assistance agreement between Ford Motor Company, VSNH and the Soviet-controlled Amtorg Trading Corporation^[46] (as purchasing agent) was concluded for nine years and signed on May 31, 1929, by Ford, FMC vice-president Peter E. Martin, V. Amtorg Trading Corporation, also known simply as Amtorg, was the first Soviet trade representation in the United States when it was established Events 1279 BC - Rameses II (The Great (19th dynasty becomes pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. Year 1929 ( MCMXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Peter Edmund (Ed Martin (born Wallaceburg Ontario 1888 died Detroit Michigan, 1944 was a leading early production executive of the Ford Motor Company I. Mezhlauk, and the president of Amtorg, Saul G. Amtorg Trading Corporation, also known simply as Amtorg, was the first Soviet trade representation in the United States when it was established Bron. The Ford Motor Company worked to conduct business in any nation where the United States had peaceful diplomatic relations:

• Ford of Australia
• Ford of Britain
• Ford of Argentina
• Ford of Brazil
• Ford of Canada
• Ford of Europe
• Ford India
• Ford South Africa
• Ford Mexico
• Autolatina
• Mazda
• Volvo Cars since 1999
• Jaguar since 1990

By 1932, Ford was manufacturing one third of all the world’s automobiles. Ford Motor Company Limited was the manufacturing and sales arm of the Ford Motor Company for the United Kingdom and originally also Ireland Autolatina was the name of a Joint venture between Volkswagen and Ford in South America. ( is a Japanese automotive manufacturer based in Hiroshima, Japan. Volvo Cars, or Volvo Personvagnar AB, is a Swedish premium Automobile maker founded in 1927 in the city of Gothenburg in Sweden Jaguar Cars Limited is a luxury car manufacturer based in Coventry, England, now operated as part of the Jaguar Land Rover business

Ford's image transfixed Europeans, especially the Germans, arousing the "fear of some, the infatuation of others, and the fascination among all". ^[47] Germans who discussed "Fordism" often believed that it represented something quintessentially American. They saw the size, tempo, standardization, and philosophy of production demonstrated at the Ford Works as a national service—an "American thing" that represented the culture of United States. The development of the culture of the United States of America — music, cinema, dance, architecture, literature, poetry Both supporters and critics insisted that Fordism epitomized American capitalist development, and that the auto industry was the key to understanding economic and social relations in the United States. As one German explained, "Automobiles have so completely changed the American's mode of life that today one can hardly imagine being without a car. It is difficult to remember what life was like before Mr. Ford began preaching his doctrine of salvation"^[48] For many Germans, Henry Ford embodied the essence of successful Americanism.

In My Life and Work, Ford predicted essentially that if greed, racism, and short-sightedness could be overcome, then eventually economic and technologic development throughout the world would progress to the point that international trade would no longer be based on (what today would be called) colonial or neocolonial models and would truly benefit all peoples. Neocolonialism is a term used by post-colonial critics of Developed countries ' involvement in the developing world ^[49] His ideas here were vague, but they were idealistic and they seemed to indicate a belief in the inherent intelligence of all ethnicities (which some may find somewhat suspect coming from Ford).

Racing

Ford maintained an interest in auto racing from 1901 to 1913 and began his involvement in the sport as both a builder and a driver, later turning the wheel over to hired drivers. Berna Eli "Barney" Oldfield ( June 3, 1878 &ndash October 4, 1946) was an Automobile racer and pioneer He entered stripped-down Model Ts in races, finishing first (although later disqualified) in an "ocean-to-ocean" (across the United States) race in 1909, and setting a one-mile (1. 6 km) oval speed record at Detroit Fairgrounds in 1911 with driver Frank Kulick. In 1913, Ford attempted to enter a reworked Model T in the Indianapolis 500 but was told rules required the addition of another 1,000 pounds (450 kg) to the car before it could qualify. The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, often shortened to Indianapolis 500 or Indy 500, and historically known simply as "The 500" is an American Ford dropped out of the race and soon thereafter dropped out of racing permanently, citing dissatisfaction with the sport's rules, demands on his time by the booming production of the Model Ts, and his low opinion of racing as a worthwhile activity.

In My Life and Work Ford speaks (briefly) of racing in a rather dismissive tone, as something that is not at all a good measure of automobiles in general. He describes himself as someone who raced only because in the 1890s through 1910s, one had to race because prevailing ignorance held that racing was the way to prove the worth of an automobile. Ford did not agree. But he was determined that as long as this was the definition of success (flawed though the definition was), then his cars would be the best that there were at racing. ^[50] Throughout the book he continually returns to ideals such as transportation, production efficiency, affordability, reliability, fuel efficiency, economic prosperity, and the automation of drudgery in farming and industry, but rarely mentions, and rather belittles, the idea of merely going fast from point A to point B.

Nevertheless, Ford did make quite an impact on auto racing during his racing years, and he was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1996. The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America is a Hall of Fame and museum in Novi Michigan for American motorsports legends

Later career

When Edsel, president of Ford Motor Company, died of cancer in May 1943, the elderly and ailing Henry Ford decided to assume the presidency. By this point in his life, he had had several cardiovascular events (variously cited as heart attack or stroke) and was mentally inconsistent, suspicious, and generally no longer fit for such a job. ^[51]

Most of the directors did not want to see him as president. But for the previous 20 years, though he had long been without any official executive title, he had always had de facto control over the company; the board and the management had never seriously defied him, and this moment was not different. The directors elected him,^[52] and he served until the end of the war. During this period the company began to decline, losing more than $10 million a month. The administration of President Franklin Roosevelt had been considering a government takeover of the company in order to ensure continued war production,^[31] but the idea never progressed.

Death

In ill health, he ceded the presidency to his grandson Henry Ford II in September 1945 and went into retirement. Henry Ford II ( September 4, 1917 — September 29, 1987) commonly known as "HF2" and "Hank the Deuce" was the son He died in 1947 of a cerebral hemorrhage at age 83 in Fair Lane, his Dearborn estate, and he is buried in the Ford Cemetery in Detroit. A cerebral hemorrhage (or intracerebral hemorrhage, ICH) is a subtype of Intracranial hemorrhage that occurs within the Brain tissue itself ^[53]

Sidelights

Interest in materials science and engineering

Henry Ford long had an interest in materials science and engineering. He enthusiastically described his company's adoption of vanadium steel alloys and subsequent metallurgic R&D work. ^[54]

Ford long had an interest in plastics developed from agricultural products, especially soybeans. He cultivated a relationship with George Washington Carver for this purpose. George Washington Carver (January 1864 – January 5 1943 was an African American Scientist, Botanist, Educator, and Inventor Soybean-based plastics were used in Ford automobiles throughout the 1930s in plastic parts such as car horns, in paint, etc. This project culminated in 1942, when Ford patented an automobile made almost entirely of plastic, attached to a tubular welded frame. It weighed 30% less than a steel car and was said to be able to withstand blows ten times greater than could steel. Furthermore, it ran on grain alcohol (ethanol) instead of gasoline. The design never caught on. ^[55]

Ford was interested in engineered woods ("Better wood can be made than is grown"^[56]) (at this time plywood and particle board were little more than experimental ideas); corn as a fuel source, via both corn oil and ethanol;^[57] and the potential uses of cotton. ^[56] Ford was instrumental in developing charcoal briquets, under the brand name "Kingsford". His brother in law, E. G. Kingsford, used wood scraps from the Ford factory to make the briquets.

Georgia residence and community

Ford maintained a vacation residence (known as the "Ford Plantation") in Richmond Hill, Georgia. Richmond Hill is a city in Bryan County, Georgia, United States. He contributed substantially to the community, building a chapel and schoolhouse and employing numerous local residents.

Preserving Americana in museums and villages

Ford had an interest in "Americana". Americana refers to artifacts of the Culture of the United States, the history and folklore resultant from its Westward expansion. In the 1920s, Ford began work to turn Sudbury, Massachusetts, into a themed historical village. Sudbury is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. He moved the schoolhouse supposedly referred to in the nursery rhyme, Mary had a little lamb, from Sterling, Massachusetts, and purchased the historical Wayside Inn. "Mary Had a Little Lamb" is a Nursery rhyme of 19th-century American origin Sterling is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, USA. The population was 7257 at the 2000 census The Wayside Inn is an historic landmark Inn located in Sudbury Massachusetts in the USA. This plan never saw fruition, but Ford repeated it with the creation of Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan. The Henry Ford, a National Historic Landmark, (also known as the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village, and more formally as the Edison Institute Dearborn is a city in the US state of Michigan. It is located in the Detroit metropolitan area and Wayne County, and is the tenth largest It may have inspired the creation of Old Sturbridge Village as well. Old Sturbridge Village ( OSV) is a Living museum located in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, in the United States which re-creates life in rural About the same time, he began collecting materials for his museum, which had a theme of practical technology. It was opened in 1929 as the Edison Institute and, although greatly modernized, remains open today.

The "invention of the automobile"

Both Henry Ford and Karl Benz are sometimes oversimplistically credited with the "invention of the automobile", although (as is the case with most inventions) the reality of the automobile's development included many inventors. Karl Friedrich Benz, sometimes spelled Carl, ( November 25, 1844, Karlsruhe, Germany – April 4, 1929, Ladenburg As Ford himself said, by the 1870s, the notion of a horseless carriage was "a common idea". ^[58] What the following decades brought was the technical success of the idea, and the extension of the idea beyond steam power to other power sources (electric motors and internal combustion engines). Ford was, however, more influential than any other single person in changing the paradigm of the automobile from a scarce, heavy, hand-built toy for rich people into a lightweight, reliable, affordable, mass-produced mode of transportation for the masses of working people.

The "invention of the assembly line"

Both Henry Ford and Ransom E. Olds are sometimes oversimplistically credited with the "invention of the assembly line", although (as is the case with most inventions) the reality of the assembly line's development included many inventors. Ransom Eli Olds ( June 3, 1864 – August 26, 1950) was a pioneer of the American Automobile industry, for whom both the Oldsmobile An assembly line is a Manufacturing process in which parts (usually Interchangeable parts) are added to a product in a sequential manner using optimally planned One prerequisite was the idea of interchangeable parts (which was another gradual technological development often mistakenly attributed to one individual or another). Interchangeable parts are components of any device designed to specifications which insure that they will fit within any device of the same type Ford's first moving assembly line (employing conveyor belts), after 5 years of empirical development, first began mass production on or around April 1, 1913. Events 527 - Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne Year 1913 ( MCMXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The idea was tried first on subassemblies, and shortly after on the entire chassis. Again, although it is inaccurate to say that Henry Ford himself "invented" the assembly line, it is accurate to say that his sponsorship of its development was central to its explosive success in the 20th century.

Miscellaneous

Ford was the winner of the award of Car Entrepreneur of the Century in 1999. The Car Entrepreneur of the Century was an international award given to the most influential car designer of the Twentieth Century.

An Episcopalian, Henry Ford dressed up as Santa Claus and gave sleigh rides to children at Christmas time on his estate. Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, or simply " Santa " is the ^[25]

Henry Ford was especially fond of Thomas Edison, and on Edison's deathbed, he demanded Edison's son catch his final breath in a test tube. The test tube can still be found today in Henry Ford Museum. The Henry Ford, a National Historic Landmark, (also known as the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village, and more formally as the Edison Institute ^[59]

In 1923, Ford's pastor, and head of his sociology department, the Episcopal minister Samuel S. Marquis, claimed that Ford believed, or "once believed" in reincarnation. ^[60] Though it is unclear whether or how long Ford kept such a belief, the San Francisco Examiner from August 26, 1928, published a quote which described Ford's beliefs:

I adopted the theory of Reincarnation when I was twenty six. The San Francisco Examiner is a US daily Newspaper. It has been published continuously in San Francisco, California, since Events 1071 - Battle of Manzikert: The Seljuk Turks defeat the Byzantine Army at Manzikert. Year 1928 ( MCMXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Religion offered nothing to the point. Even work could not give me complete satisfaction. Work is futile if we cannot utilise the experience we collect in one life in the next. When I discovered Reincarnation it was as if I had found a universal plan I realised that there was a chance to work out my ideas. Time was no longer limited. I was no longer a slave to the hands of the clock. Genius is experience. Some seem to think that it is a gift or talent, but it is the fruit of long experience in many lives. Some are older souls than others, and so they know more. The discovery of Reincarnation put my mind at ease. If you preserve a record of this conversation, write it so that it puts men’s minds at ease. I would like to communicate to others the calmness that the long view of life gives to us.

Popular culture

• In Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, society is organized on 'Fordist' lines and the years are dated A. Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 &ndash 22 November 1963 was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. Brave New World is a 1932 Novel by Aldous Huxley. Set in the London of AD 2540 (632 A F. (After Ford). In the book, the expression 'My Ford' is used instead of 'My Lord'. Even human beings were produced via an assembly line in large glass jars and in five models: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Epsilon. As homage to the assembly line philosophy that so defined the mass-culture society of Brave New World, native individuals make the "sign of the T" instead of the "sign of the cross. "
• Ford is a character in several historical fiction books, notably E. L. Doctorow's Ragtime, and Richard Powers' novel Three Farmers on the Way to a Dance. Edgar Lawrence Doctorow (born January 6, 1931, New York New York) is an American Author whose critically acclaimed and award winning fiction Ragtime is a 1975 Novel by E L Doctorow. This work of Historical fiction is mostly set in New York City from about Richard Powers (born June 18, 1957) is an American Novelist whose works explore the effects of modern science and technology
• In the 2005 novel The Plot Against America, Philip Roth imagines Ford as Secretary of Interior in an imaginary Lindbergh administration. The Plot Against America A Novel (ISBN 0-618-50928-3 is a novel by Philip Roth published in 2004 Philip Milton Roth (born March 19, 1933, Newark New Jersey) is an American novelist
• Ford, his family, and his company were the subjects of a 1986 biography by Robert Lacey entitled Ford: The Men and the Machine. The book was adapted in 1987 into a film starring Cliff Robertson and Michael Ironside. Clifford Parker "Cliff" Robertson III (born September 9, 1925) is an Academy Award - winning American Actor with a Michael Ironside (born February 12, 1950) is a Canadian method actor.

Honors

• In December 1999 Ford was among 18 included in Gallup's List of Widely Admired People of the 20th Century, from a poll conducted of the American people. Gallup's List of Widely Admired People, a poll of United States citizens to volunteer the names of the individuals whom they most admire is a list compiled annually by The Gallup

See also

• Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad
• Edison and Ford Winter Estates
• Fair Lane
• Fordlândia
• William B. Mayo
• Dodge v. Ford Motor Company
• Ford Family Tree
• List of most wealthy historical figures

Notes

References

Memoirs by Ford Motor Company principals

• Ford, Henry; with Crowther, Samuel (1922), My Life and Work, Garden City, New York, USA: Garden City Publishing Company, Inc, <http://www.gutenberg.net/etext/7213>  Various republications, including ISBN 9781406500189. Original is public domain in U. S.
• Ford, Henry; with Crowther, Samuel (1926), Today and Tomorrow, Garden City, New York, USA: Doubleday, Page & Company  Co-edition, 1926, London, William Heinemann. Various republications, including ISBN 0-915299-36-4.
• Ford, Henry; with Crowther, Samuel (1930), Moving Forward, Garden City, New York, USA: Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc  Co-edition, 1931, London, William Heinemann.
• Ford, Henry; with Crowther, Samuel (1930), Edison as I Know Him, New York: Cosmopolitan Book Corporation  Apparent co-edition, 1930, as My Friend Mr. Edison, London, Ernest Benn. Republished as Edison as I Knew Him by American Thought and Action, San Diego, 1966, OCLC 3456201. Republished as Edison as I Know Him by Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2007, ISBN 9781432561581.
• Bennett, Harry; with Marcus, Paul (1951), We Never Called Him Henry, New York: Fawcett Publications, LCCN 51-036122 
• Sorensen, Charles E.; with Williamson, Samuel T. (1956), My Forty Years with Ford, New York: Norton, OCLC 912748  Various republications, including ISBN 9780814332795. Harry Bennett (1892-1979 a former boxer and ex-Navy sailor was an executive at Ford Motor Company during the 1930’s and 1940’s The Library of Congress Control Number or LCCN is a serially based system of numbering cataloging records in the Library of Congress in the United Charles Emil Sorensen ( 7 September 1881 - 11 August 1968) was a Danish-American principal of the Ford Motor Company during its first

Biographies

• Bak, Richard (2003). Henry and Edsel: The Creation of the Ford Empire. Wiley ISBN 0471234877
• Brinkley, Douglas G. Wheels for the World: Henry Ford, His Company, and a Century of Progress (2003)
• Halberstam, David. "Citizen Ford" American Heritage 1986 37(6): 49–64. interpretive essay
• Jardim, Anne. The First Henry Ford: A Study in Personality and Business Leadership Massachusetts Inst. of Technology Press 1970.
• Lacey, Robert. Ford: The Men and the Machine Little, Brown, 1986. popular biography
• Lewis, David I. (1976). The Public Image of Henry Ford: An American Folk Hero and His Company. Wayne State University Press.  
• Nevins, Allan; Frank Ernest Hill (1954). Allan Nevins ( May 20, 1890 - March 5, 1971) was an American historian and journalist Ford: The Times, The Man, The Company. New York: Charles Scribners' Sons.  
• Nevins, Allan; Frank Ernest Hill (1957). Allan Nevins ( May 20, 1890 - March 5, 1971) was an American historian and journalist Ford: Expansion and Challenge, 1915–1933. New York: Charles Scribners' Sons.  
• Nevins, Allan; Frank Ernest Hill (1962). Allan Nevins ( May 20, 1890 - March 5, 1971) was an American historian and journalist Ford: Decline and Rebirth, 1933–1962. New York: Charles Scribners' Sons.  
• Nye, David E. Henry Ford: "Ignorant Idealist. " Kennikat, 1979.
• Watts, Steven. The People's Tycoon: Henry Ford and the American Century (2005)

Specialized studies

• Batchelor, Ray. Henry Ford: Mass Production, Modernism and Design Manchester U. Press, 1994.
• Bonin, Huber et al. Ford, 1902–2003: The European History 2 vol Paris 2003. ISBN 2-914369-06-9 scholarly essays in English; reviewed in * Holden, Len. "Fording the Atlantic: Ford and Fordism in Europe" in Business History Volume 47, #1 Jan 2005 pp 122–127
• Brinkley, Douglas. "Prime Mover". American Heritage 2003 54(3): 44–53. on Model T
• Bryan, Ford R. Henry's Lieutenants, 1993; ISBN 0-8143-2428-2
• Bryan, Ford R. Beyond the Model T: The Other Ventures of Henry Ford Wayne State Press 1990.
• Dempsey, Mary A. "Fordlandia," Michigan History 1994 78(4): 24–33. Ford's rubber plantation in Brazil
• Jacobson, D. S. "The Political Economy of Industrial Location: the Ford Motor Company at Cork 1912–26. " Irish Economic and Social History 1977 4: 36–55. Ford and Irish politics
• Kraft, Barbara S. The Peace Ship: Henry Ford's Pacifist Adventure in the First World War Macmillan, 1978
• Levinson, William A. Henry Ford's Lean Vision: Enduring Principles from the First Ford Motor Plant, 2002; ISBN 1-56327-260-1
• Lewis, David L. "Ford and Kahn" Michigan History 1980 64(5): 17–28. Ford commissioned architect Albert Kahn to design factories
• Lewis, David L. "Henry Ford and His Magic Beanstalk" . Michigan History 1995 79(3): 10–17. Ford's interest in soybeans and plastics
• Lewis, David L. "Working Side by Side" Michigan History 1993 77(1): 24–30. Why Ford hired large numbers of black workers
• McIntyre, Stephen L. "The Failure of Fordism: Reform of the Automobile Repair Industry, 1913–1940: Technology and Culture 2000 41(2): 269–299. repair shops rejected flat rates
• Meyer, Stephen. The Five Dollar Day: Labor Management and Social Control in the Ford Motor Company, 1908–1921 (1981)
• Nolan; Mary. Visions of Modernity: American Business and the Modernization of Germany (1994)
• Daniel M. G. Raff and Lawrence H. Summers (October 1987). "Did Henry Ford Pay Efficiency Wages?". Journal of Labor Economics 5 (4): S57–S86. doi:10.1086/298165. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document.  
• Pietrykowski, Bruce. "Fordism at Ford: Spatial Decentralization and Labor Segmentation at the Ford Motor Company, 1920–1950" Economic Geography 1995 71(4): 383–401.
• Roediger, David, ed "Americanism and Fordism – American Style: Kate Richards O'hare's 'Has Henry Ford Made Good?'" Labor History 1988 29(2): 241–252. Socialist praise for Ford in 1916
• Segal, Howard P. "'Little Plants in the Country': Henry Ford's Village Industries and the Beginning of Decentralized Technology in Modern America" Prospects 1988 13: 181–223. Ford created 19 rural workplaces as pastoral retreats
• Tedlow, Richard S. "The Struggle for Dominance in the Automobile Market: the Early Years of Ford and General Motors" Business and Economic History 1988 17: 49–62. Ford stressed low price based on efficient factories but GM did better in oligopolistic competition by including investment in manufacturing, marketing, and management.
• Thomas, Robert Paul. "The Automobile Industry and its Tycoon" Explorations in Entrepreneurial History 1969 6(2): 139–157. argues Ford did NOT have much influence on US industry,
• Valdés, Dennis Nodin. "Perspiring Capitalists: Latinos and the Henry Ford Service School, 1918–1928" Aztlán 1981 12(2): 227–239. Ford brought hundreds of Mexicans in for training as managers
• Wilkins, Mira and Frank Ernest Hill, American Business Abroad: Ford on Six Continents Wayne State University Press, 1964
• Williams, Karel, Colin Haslam and John Williams, "Ford versus `Fordism': The Beginning of Mass Production?" Work, Employment & Society, Vol. 6, No. 4, 517–555 (1992), stress on Ford's flexibility and commitment to continuous improvements

Further reading

• Baldwin, Neil; Henry Ford and the Jews: The Mass Production of Hate; PublicAffairs, 2000; ISBN 1-58648-163-0
• Foust, James C. "Mass-produced Reform: Henry Ford's Dearborn Independent" American Journalism 1997 14(3–4): 411–424.
• Higham, Charles, Trading With The Enemy The Nazi – American Money Plot 1933–1949 ; Delacorte Press 1983
• Kandel, Alan D. "Ford and Israel" Michigan Jewish History 1999 39: 13–17. covers business and philanthropy
• Lee, Albert; Henry Ford and the Jews; Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. , 1980; ISBN 0-8128-2701-5
• Lewis, David L. "Henry Ford's Anti-semitism and its Repercussions" Michigan Jewish History 1984 24(1): 3–10.
• Reich, Simon (1999) "The Ford Motor Company and the Third Reich" Dimensions, 13(2): 15 – 17 online
• Ribuffo, Leo P. "Henry Ford and the International Jew" American Jewish History 1980 69(4): 437–477.
• Sapiro, Aaron L. "A Retrospective View of the Aaron Sapiro-Henry Ford Case" Western States Jewish Historical Quarterly 1982 15(1): 79–84.
• Silverstein, K. (2000) "Ford and the Führer" The Nation 270(3): 11 – 16
• Wallace, Max The American Axis: Henry Ford, Charles Lindbergh, and the Rise of the Third Reich; ISBN 0-312-33531-8
• Woeste, Victoria Saker. "Insecure Equality: Louis Marshall, Henry Ford, and the Problem of Defamatory Antisemitism, 1920–1929" Journal of American History 2004 91(3): 877–905.

External links

• Automobile History Online – Henry Ford history and photos
• Full text of My Life and Work from Project Gutenberg
• Notable quotations and speech excerpts
• Timeline
• Quotes
• Nevins and Hill tell the story of Peace Ship in American Heritage
• College student reports on the 1915 Peace Ship expedition
• The Henry Ford Heritage Association
• American Corporate Support for Nazis
• The Washington Post reports on Ford and General Motors response to alleged collaboration with Nazi Germany
• Power, Ignorance, and Anti-Semitism: Henry Ford and His War on Jews by Jonathan R. Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to Digitize, archive and distribute Cultural works Logsdon, Hanover Historical Review 1999
• Review of "Henry Ford and The Jews" by Neil Baldwin
• Listen to “The Terror of the Machine” by Henry Ford Free mp3 audio download from ThoughtAudio.com
• Review of "The People's Tycoon" by Steven Watts. Henry Ford may have regretted his innovation (SF Chronicle)

Preceded by n/a	Chief Executive Officer of the Ford Motor Company 1903–1919	Succeeded by Edsel Ford
Preceded by Edsel Ford	Chief Executive Officer of the Ford Motor Company 1943–1945[1]	Succeeded by Henry Ford II

Persondata
NAME	Ford, Henry
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	founder of the Ford Motor Company and father of modern assembly lines used in mass production
DATE OF BIRTH	July 30, 1863
PLACE OF BIRTH	Greenfield Township, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
DATE OF DEATH	April 7, 1947
PLACE OF DEATH	Fair Lane, Dearborn, Michigan, U.S.

A chief executive officer ( CEO) or chief executive is typically the highest-ranking corporate officer ( executive) or administrator Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following Edsel Bryant Ford ( November 6, 1893 &ndash May 26, 1943) son of Henry Ford, was born in Detroit. Edsel Bryant Ford ( November 6, 1893 &ndash May 26, 1943) son of Henry Ford, was born in Detroit. A chief executive officer ( CEO) or chief executive is typically the highest-ranking corporate officer ( executive) or administrator Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following Henry Ford II ( September 4, 1917 — September 29, 1987) commonly known as "HF2" and "Hank the Deuce" was the son Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following An assembly line is a Manufacturing process in which parts (usually Interchangeable parts) are added to a product in a sequential manner using optimally planned Mass production (also called flow production, repetitive flow production, series production, or serial production) is the production of Events 1419 - First Defenestration of Prague. 1502 - Christopher Columbus lands at Guanaja in the Bay Islands off Year 1863 ( MDCCCLXIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Greenfield is a former Civil township of Wayne County, Michigan which was completely annexed into the City of Detroit, Michigan and The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Events 529 - First draft of Corpus Juris Civilis (a fundamental work in Jurisprudence) is issued by Eastern Roman Emperor Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Fair Lane was the name of Henry Ford and Clara Ford 's estate in Dearborn Michigan. Dearborn is a city in the US state of Michigan. It is located in the Detroit metropolitan area and Wayne County, and is the tenth largest The United States of America —commonly referred to as the

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