When you dig into the fabric of American innovation, it is not the large start-up companies that have molded our historic entrepreneurial spirit. It is the individuals who started from scratch and that put everything on the line to become a success. It is those who have sacrificed everything they had to make their business grow and become giants of their industries. In modern day, you can’t mention computers without acknowledging Steve Jobs and his contribution to the industry. The computer spurred concepts such as social media and you can’t mention social media without bringing up Facebook. You wonder if Steve Jobs had any idea, when working on the LISA, what would become of his passion, the computer.
But, on July 30, 1863 a boy was born that would not only be instrumental in building a company, he would be a key part of the early automotive industry and for an industry that caused a chain reaction which created several more industries that were needed to support the automotive industry. He did this with no social media to market on. In those days it took around 5 days to get from New York to London and on the fastest train it took 95 hours (4 Days) to get from Chicago to San Francisco. Now you can fly to London from New York in 6 hours and from Chicago to San Francisco in less than 5 hours. And, we have digital meetings on the computer that actually put us in the same room together from all over the globe.
In the same spirit of what the name Steve Jobs means to computers, another name means the same to the automobile. You cannot mention the evolution of the automotive industry without mentioning Henry Ford.
Henry was born in 1863 in Michigan. At the age of 13 little Henry made his own tools to repair a broken watch when a farmhand explained the inner workings of the watch to him. He quit school in the 6th grade and left the family farm to work in a machine shop in Detroit. At the age of 20 he worked at Westinghouse repairing and demonstrating steam engines and took a few courses, of his only formal business training, at a Detroit Business University. Who knows, in this day and time, would we even let a 6th grade drop-out attend a business school. Rick Duncan, president of Myclassic NEWS said “It’s very ironic, my father quit school in the 6th grade and left the family farm to chase his dream. He became a success in the Cadillac business. My father-in-law quit school in the 8th grade to work on the family farm and had one of the greatest theological minds that I have ever witnessed. It seems that regulations and constraints have evolved into a damper on our great minds in this day and time. If a kid is bored with school, instead of letting him chase his dream, we push him to learn something that he has no passion for. I wonder if Henry Ford was made to stay in school and was restricted from chasing his dream at such a young age, would our automotive industry landscape would look much different now?”
During the next decade Ford married, continued in positions of engineering and had his only child Edsel Bryant Ford in 1893. In that same year he built a one cylinder engine, then in 1896 he completed his first automobile, a quadricycle and drove it through the streets of Detroit. During this time, Ford met Thomas Edison and Edison influenced Ford to continue his pursuit in the automotive industry.
In 1899, Ford left the Edison Company, after 8 years of employment, to pursue his dream. He became chief engineer and partner at the newly formed Detroit Automobile Company. Just a couple years later in 1901 the Henry Ford Company was organized, but Ford left over a dispute with bankers. In 1902 the company becomes the Cadillac Motor Car Co.
In 1903, the Ford Motor Company officially incorporated and Ford’s first Model A appeared on the market in Detroit. That same year Ford sold his first Model A to a Chicago doctor and received 2 more deposits. This gave the company much needed cash flow. In 1904 Ford build its first plant in Detroit and two years later, in 1906, Ford’s, now forgotten, Model N becomes America’s best seller. Two years thereafter, in 1908, Ford began production of the Model T. By 1913, Ford introduced the first moving automobile assembly line in Highland Park and in 1914, without government regulations or unions, Ford announced his plan to share Ford Motor Company profits with workers, paying them $5.00 for an eight hour day. This is equivalent to $125.00 today, a revolutionary concept for the time.
In 1918 Ford lost a run for the Senate and the next year, his son Edsel, became president of Ford. Ford owned 55% of the industry in 1921 and in 1922 Ford bought Lincoln. When you look back at the historical structure of makes and models of every auto manufacturer, there have been acquisitions and many models scrapped, but now in 2017, Ford and Lincoln are still alive and well.
Below are some more milestones of Henry Ford’s dream:
1915 – The Henry Ford Hospital founded
1917 – Fordson Tactor debuts
1926 – Ford develops the Tr-Motor airplane
1932 – Ford builds their first V-8 car
1936 – The Ford Foundation is established
Sadly, in 1949, Ford’s son Edsel dies at the age of 49 and Henry, who was in his late 70’s, took over as president again. Seventy years ago this week, Mr. Henry Ford passed away at the age of 83, just four years after losing his son.
“What my great-grandfather established, especially his legacy
of innovation, continues to inspire our commitment to a strong
business, great products and a better world,” said Ford Executive
Chairman Bill Ford. “We are putting unexpected levels of
technology within reach of millions of people, accelerating the
development of new products that customers want and value,
and driving growth by creating jobs and bringing the freedom of
mobility to the world.”
At one time over 50% of the cars on the road were Model T’s. As we drive down the road today, many cars look the same and we have no cognizant awareness of what makes and models are the most abundant, but can you imagine a day when the cars passing you by were the same model? What an accomplishment from a boy who made his own tools to work on things and quit school in the 6th grade to pursue his dreams. Henry Ford is the epitome of what Myclassic NEWS calls “The Essence of Classic Cars”.
Look for more Ford History all month on Myclassic NEWS.
Photo Credit: All photos herein are the property of Ford and were published by MyclassicNEWS with their permission and consent. All content herein, other than property published by permission, is the property of myclassicnews.com and any reproduction, other than normal social media sharing, is strictly prohibited. Copyright ©, myclassicnews.com. For reprint permission contact us at rick@duncanwalls.com
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