Ford (1863) - Energy Kids: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) (2024)

Henry Ford (1863)

Horseless Carriage

Ford (1863) - Energy Kids: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) (2)

Source: Wikimedia Commons author unknown (Public Domain, 1896)

Henry Ford is often incorrectly thought of as the inventor of the automobile. (That distinction belongs to Karl Benz of Germany.) Henry Ford was an innovative man who revolutionized the automobile industry. Ford was born on July 30, 1863 in Dearborn, Michigan. As a child he worked on the family farm. In his spare time, he experimented in the farm's machine shop. At the age of 17, Ford left the family farm and moved to Detroit where he worked in continued his work in machine shops, specifically with steam engines. In 1882 Henry Ford became a certified machinist and was hired by Westinghouse Company to set up and repair steam engines.

In 1891 Ford designed a small engine that burned gasoline. Thomas Edison then offered Henry Ford a job and Ford became the chief engineer for Edison Illuminating Company. Three years later, Ford built a gasoline-powered car known as the "horseless carriage". He quit his job with Edison to pursue interests with cars. Over the next few years, Henry Ford continued to develop his car designs, including the Model A and the Model T. He increased both speed and fuel efficiency. Efficiency was a trademark of Ford. He developed the assembly line to help produce cars quickly and economically. It was Ford's goal to make cars available to average Americans. During both World War I and World War II, the Ford plant was used in the war effort to build equipment. During the last portion of Henry Ford's life, he served as chairman of the Ford Foundation, a charitable organization. Henry Ford died on April 7, 1947.

Ford (1863) - Energy Kids: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) (3)

Ford (1863) - Energy Kids: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) (2024)

FAQs

Ford (1863) - Energy Kids: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)? ›

Henry Ford (1863)

Why did Henry Ford quit his job? ›

On August 15, 1899, in Detroit, Michigan, Henry Ford resigns his position as chief engineer at the Edison Illuminating Company's main plant in order to concentrate on automobile production.

What was the tin Lizzie and what was its impact on the US? ›

It was the day when Henry Ford's groundbreaking creation, the Model T, affectionately known as the 'Tin Lizzie,' rolled off the assembly line, marking the birth of the modern mass-produced automobile. Henry Ford, a visionary entrepreneur, and industrialist, had a dream of making automobiles accessible to the masses.

Why was Henry Ford so important? ›

Henry Ford has changed the way of life for many people with his vision to make owning a car both practical and affordable. The moving assembly line and mass production techniques that he developed, set the standard for worldwide industrial practice in the first half of the 20th Century.

What is a secondary source for Henry Ford? ›

Examples of reliable secondary sources would be a published interview with or other direct quotations of Henry Ford in newspapers contemporary to him, including but in no way limited to house organs such as the Ford Times and Ford News, or a book whose ghostwriting or collaboration was authorized by Henry Ford.

Who took over Ford after Henry Ford died? ›

Edsel Ford succeeds his father, Henry Ford, as President. The Fords become sole owners of the company by purchasing stock of the other shareholders.

What happened to Henry Ford's money after he died? ›

He turned over the company to his grandson Henry Ford II in 1945. Upon his death in 1947 he left most of his wealth to the Ford Foundation, and control of the company to his family.

What is Tin Lizzie slang for? ›

tin lizzie in American English

noun. old-fashioned slang. a small, cheap automobile in run-down condition, esp. a Model T Ford.

Why were Model T Fords black? ›

Black was the only color paint that could be dried quickly, and speed was important at the Ford plant because of its enormous volume. cars were painted using a process called japanning, The only pigment that it worked in is black. If japanning worked in hot pink, all Model T's would have been hot pink."

What was Henry Ford's famous quote? ›

“Don't find fault, find a remedy: anyone can complain.” “If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right.”

What religion was Henry Ford? ›

Mr. Ford was reared an Episcopalian in the pietistic climate of western Michigan, an area heavily influenced by Dutch Calvinism.

Was Henry Ford a good father? ›

Henry Ford did not at all enjoy his only child, Edsel. He disliked the boy for being different from himself. Henry gloried in his self-image as a deprived farm lad who turned into a major capitalist but never abandoned the simple ways of his youth.

Was Henry Ford part of the second industrial revolution? ›

The Second Industrial Revolution focused on steel production, automobiles, and advances in electricity. Henry Ford introduced the assembly line during The Second Industrial Revolution.)

What was the first assembly line by Henry Ford? ›

The first Ford assembly line at the Highland Park, Michigan, plant was relatively crude. Here, in 1913, workers put V-shaped magnets on Model T flywheels to make one-half of the flywheel magneto. Each worker installed a few parts and simply shoved the flywheel down the line to the next worker.

What did Henry Ford the second do? ›

Henry Ford II served as President of the company from 1945 until 1960, when he became Chairman and CEO. He retired in 1979 after a career at Ford during which his personal, strong leadership was responsible for the development of one of the world's largest, most successful corporations.

Why did Henry Ford not go to college? ›

He took a few business-related courses later on in life, but he never completed a college degree. He left school at about the age of 15 or 16 in order to pursue his dream of working with machinery.

What happened to Henry Ford's company after he died? ›

Ford died at home in 1947, exactly 100 years after his father had left Ireland for Michigan. His holdings in Ford stock went to the Ford Foundation, which had been set up in 1936 as a means of retaining family control of the firm and which subsequently became the richest private foundation in the world.

Why did the Detroit Automobile Company fail? ›

So, along with many other economic factors, the prices of cars went up along with the subsidized pensions and wages of the auto industry's workforce. In the 1960s, with an influx in imports due to more competitive pricing, the Detroit automotive market began to decline, as pointed out by Klier.

What jobs did Henry Ford hold? ›

Henry Ford had the following jobs:
  • farm hand.
  • apprentice as a machinist.
  • watch repairman.
  • shipbuilder.
  • steam engine operator.
  • chief engineer.
  • president of a car industry.

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