This article is about the American industrialist. For other people with the same name, see Henry Ford (disambiguation).
Henry Ford
Portrait by Fred Hartsook, c. 1919
Born
(1863-07-30)July 30, 1863
Springwells Township, Michigan, U.S.
Died
April 7, 1947(1947-04-07) (aged 83)
Dearborn, Michigan, U.S.
Resting place
Ford Cemetery, Detroit, Michigan
Occupations
Engineer
industrialist
publisher
philanthropist
Years active
1891–1945
Known for
Founding and leading the Ford Motor Company
Pioneering a system that launched the mass production and sale of affordable automotives to the public
Title
President of Ford Motor Company (1906–1919, 1943–1945)
Political party
Republican (1881–1918)
Democratic (1918–1947)
Spouse
Clara Jane Bryant
(m. 1888)
Children
Edsel
Signature
Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist and business magnate. As the founder of the Ford Motor Company he is credited as a pioneer in making automobiles affordable for middle-class Americans through the system that came to be known as Fordism.[1][2] In 1911 he was awarded a patent for the transmission mechanism that would be used in the Model T and other automobiles.
Ford was born in a farmhouse in Springwells Township, Michigan, and left home at the age of 16 to find work in Detroit.[3] It was a few years before this time that Ford first experienced automobiles, and throughout the later half of the 1880s, he began repairing and later constructing engines, and through the 1890s worked with a division of Edison Electric. He founded the Ford Motor Company in 1903 after prior failures in business, but success in constructing automobiles.
Ford's introduction of the Model T automobile in 1908 is credited with having revolutionized both transportation and American industry. As the sole owner of the Ford Motor Company, "he became one of the richest and best-known people in the world."[4] Aside from "Fordism", Ford was also among the pioneers of the five-day work week. Ford believed that consumerism was a key to global peace. His commitment to systematically lowering costs resulted in many technical and business innovations, including a franchise system, which allowed for dealerships throughout North America and in major cities on six continents.
Ford was known for his pacifism during the first years of World War I, although during the war his company became a major supplier of weapons. He promoted the League of Nations. In the 1920s Ford promoted antisemitism through his newspaper The Dearborn Independent and the book The International Jew. He opposed his country's entering World War II, and served for a time on the America First Committee board. After his son Edsel died in 1943, Ford resumed control of the company but was too frail to make decisions and quickly came under the control of subordinates. 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.
^Cwiek, Sarah (January 27, 2014). "The Middle Class Took Off 100 Years Ago ... Thanks To Henry Ford?". National Public Radio. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
^Goodman, Peter (June 10, 2024). "Lessons From Henry Ford About Today's Supply Chain Mess". The New York Times. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
^"Ford Home - The Henry Ford". www.thehenryford.org. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
^Chiodini, Melanie (January 18, 2013). "Vision and innovation: Lessons from Henry Ford". MSU Extension. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
HenryFord (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist and business magnate. As the founder of the Ford Motor Company he is credited...
industry. He was the oldest son of Edsel Ford I and oldest grandson of HenryFord. He was president of the Ford Motor Company from 1945 to 1960, Chief executive...
The HenryFord (also known as the HenryFord Museum of American Innovation and Greenfield Village, and as the Edison Institute) is a history museum complex...
HenryFord Hospital (HFH) is an 877-bed tertiary care hospital, education and research complex at the western edge of the New Center area in Detroit, Michigan...
The HenryFord Company was an automobile manufacturer active from 1901 to 1902. Named after HenryFord, it was his second company after the Detroit Automobile...
HenryFord College (HFC) is a public community college in Dearborn, Michigan. The institution, established in 1938 by the Dearborn Fordson Public Schools...
river Ford may also refer to: HenryFord, founder of the Ford Motor Company Ford Foundation, established by Henry and Edsel Ford Australia Ford Brasil...
It was founded by HenryFord and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobiles and commercial vehicles under the Ford brand, and luxury...
Ford (November 6, 1893 – May 26, 1943) was an American business executive and philanthropist who was the only child of pioneering industrialist Henry...
the Ford family to actively preach religious harmony between faiths through his NCCJ co-chairmanship (in direct contrast to his grandfather HenryFord);...
Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, it was founded by HenryFord on June 16, 1903. Ford Motor Company would go on to become one of the largest and...
HenryFord Health (formerly the HenryFord Health System) is an integrated, not-for-profit health care organization in Metro Detroit. The corporate office...
designer Carroll Shelby and his British driver, Ken Miles, who are hired by HenryFord II and Lee Iacocca to build a race car to defeat the perennially dominant...
better known as Cristina Ford or Mrs. HenryFord II, due to her marriage to HenryFord II, the chief executive officer of the Ford Motor Company. Maria was...
R series Ford Transcontinental (1975–1983) Ford Cargo (1981–1993) Ford GT40 (1966–1968) Ford GT70 (1970–1973) HenryFordFord of Europe Ford Motor Company...
27, 1908, at the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant in Detroit, Michigan. On May 26, 1927, HenryFord watched the 15 millionth Model T Ford roll off the assembly...
Torino name was actually prepared), while HenryFord II wanted T-bird II. As the person responsible for Ford's research on potential names, Eggert added...
Edsel Bryant Ford II (born December 27, 1948) is the great-grandson of HenryFord I, grandson of Edsel Ford I, and the only son of HenryFord II. He served...
The HenryFord Bridge, also known as the Badger Avenue Bridge, is a bridge located in Los Angeles County, Southern California. It carries the Pacific Harbor...
three-engined transport aircraft. Production started in 1925 by the companies of HenryFord and ended on June 7, 1933, after 199 had been made. It was designed for...
Clara Jane Bryant Ford (April 11, 1866 – September 29, 1950) was the wife of HenryFord. She was an active suffragist and was inducted into the Michigan...
"Ford President, COO Jim Padilla To Retire". Motor Trend. April 21, 2006. Retrieved January 10, 2021. "Ford Motor Company chronology". HenryFord Museum...
Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry...
of and topical guide to HenryFord: HenryFord – American captain of industry and a business magnate, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and the sponsor...
standardized mass production and mass consumption. The concept is named after HenryFord. It is used in social, economic, and management theory about production...
The HenryFord II World Center, also commonly known as the Ford World Headquarters and popularly known as the Glass House, is the administrative headquarters...
Global Information
