Henry Ford was an American industry leader and a business tycoon, born on July 30, 1863. He was the founder of the Ford Motor Company. More than a car builder, he was a farmer, a watch repairman, and a race car
driver as well.
He revolutionized the transportation industry with his Model T automobile and became one of the richest and prevalent people of his time.
He sponsored the development of the assembly line technique of mass production and considered as the inventor of mass production.
His technique of mass production of budget
goods united with high wages for workers is known as “Fordism”. This technique of lowering
costs resulted in many technical and business innovations, including a franchise system.
Ford incorporated the Ford Motor Company in 1903 with a mere 28,000 USD from the public. He built the ‘Model A’ as the company’s first car
followed by the ‘Model N’ in 1907.
He died due to a cerebral hemorrhage on April 7, 1947.
Interesting Facts:
He once quoted “Why is it every time I ask for a pair of hands, they come with a brain
attached?”
He built his first steam engine by the age of 15 in 1878 and realized his dream of gasoline engines in 1893.
He is the only American mentioned favorably in Adolf Hitler’s semi-autobiographical ‘Mein Kampf.’
He had de facto control of the business and was never officially an executive of his own company.
He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1996, despite the fact he hated car racing and pursued the car racing only to promote his cars.
He also founded the Ford Airline Company during World War I due to his interest in the aviation industry.
He has registered 161 unique patents to his name.
His Model T was named the most influential car of the 20th century, with the sale of 16.5 million units. It still makes the top-ten list of most-sold cars of all time (ranked ninth) currently.