American industrialist who revolutionized factory production with his assembly-line methods.
Henry Ford, born July 30, 1863, was the first of William and Mary Ford's six children.
In 1879, Ford left home for the nearby city of Detroit to work as an apprentice machinist,. He remained an apprentice for three years and then returned to Dearborn.
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. These experiments culminated in 1896 with the completion of his own self-propelled vehicle named the Ford Quadricycle.Although Ford was not the first to build a self-propelled vehicle with a gasoline engine, he was, however, one of several automotive pioneers who helped this country become a nation of motorists.Also in 1896 , Ford attended a meeting of Edison executives.After encouraged by Edison's approval, Ford designed and built a second vehicle, which was completed in 1896.
Henry Ford, born July 30, 1863, was the first of William and Mary Ford's six children.
In 1879, Ford left home for the nearby city of Detroit to work as an apprentice machinist,. He remained an apprentice for three years and then returned to Dearborn.
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. These experiments culminated in 1896 with the completion of his own self-propelled vehicle named the Ford Quadricycle.Although Ford was not the first to build a self-propelled vehicle with a gasoline engine, he was, however, one of several automotive pioneers who helped this country become a nation of motorists.Also in 1896 , Ford attended a meeting of Edison executives.After encouraged by Edison's approval, Ford designed and built a second vehicle, which was completed in 1896.
After two unsuccessful attempts to establish a company to manufacture automobiles,Henry Ford became the vice-president and chief engineer of Ford Motor Company in 1903. The infant company produced only a few cars a day at the Ford factory on Mack Avenue in Detroit. Groups of two or three men worked on each car from components made to order by other companies.
Model T was produced in 1908. It was easy to operate, maintain, and handle on rough roads, immediately becoming a huge success.In the 19 years of the Model T's existence, he sold 15,500,000 of the cars in the United States, almost 1,000,000 more in Canada, and 250,000 in Great Britain, a production which is total amounting to half the auto output of the world. The motor age became the ordinary man's utility rather than as the rich man's luxury. Once only the rich had travelled freely around the country; now millions could go wherever they pleased. The Model T was the chief instrument of one of the greatest and most rapid changes in the lives of the common people in history, and it effected this change in less than two decades.
By 1918, half of all cars in America were Model Ts. To meet the growing demand for the Model T, the company opened a large factory at Highland Park, Michigan, in 1910. Henry Ford combined precision manufacturing, standardized and interchangeable parts, a division of labor, and, in 1913, a continuous moving assembly line. Workers remained in place, adding one component to each automobile as it moved on the line. Delivery of parts by conveyor belt to the workers was carefully timed to keep the assembly line moving efficiently. The introduction of the moving assembly line revolutionized automobile production by significantly reducing assembly time per vehicle, thus lowering costs. Ford's production of Model Ts made his company the largest automobile manufacturer in the world.
Ford's success in making the automobile a basic necessity turned out to be but a prelude to a more widespread revolution. The development of mass-production techniques, which enabled the company to produce a Model T every 24 seconds; the frequent reductions in the price of the car made possible by economies of scale; and the payment of a living wage that raised workers above subsistence and made them potential customers for, among other things.
By the mid-1920s, sales of the Model T began to decline due to rising competition.By 1926 Henry was convinced 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 introduced Ford Model A in December 1927 and produced through 1931, with a total output of more than 4 million.
Resources
The result was the successful introduced Ford Model A in December 1927 and produced through 1931, with a total output of more than 4 million.
Resources
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blford.htm
http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventors/ford.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Ford
http://www.hfmgv.org/exhibits/hf/
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