Biography • Born in Dearborn, Michigan in 1863• As the oldest son he was expected to take over

the family farm but he had no interest in doing so

• In 1891, at age 28 he married Clara Ala Bryant• In 1893 his only son, Edsel was born• In 1943, at the age of 49, Edsel Ford died of

cancer• Henry Ford was a philanthropist and

during the course of his life he built a hospital and donated money to a number of charities, among other things

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Biography cont.

• After his son’s death, he became increasingly obsessive and paranoid

• He was also anti-semitic• He had an evil henchman named

Harry Bennett• Henry Ford died in 1947 at the age of

84

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Accomplishments• 1891 moved to Detroit and became chief

engineer at Edison Illuminating Company• 1893 built and tested 1st gasoline engine• 1896 built 1st self propelled vehicle called the

Quadricycle• June 1903 founded the Ford Motor Company

with $28,000• 1908 introduced the Model T or “Tin Lizzie”, it

cost 1/3 of the price of other cars at the time• 1913 introduced the conveyer belt

assembly line which cut production from 12 hours to 1 ½ hours

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Accomplishments cont.• 1914 introduced the idea of minimum wage• 1920 manufactured cars at a rate of 1 per minute• 1922 purchased Lincoln Motor Company• 1925 manufactured 1 car every 10 seconds• 1927 began standardizing and creating own parts• 1947 1 in 7 Americans were employed in

automotive related industries• At the time of his death he was worth

$500 million and he had sold 15,456,868 Model Ts

• Before Henry Ford came along the urban to rural population was 1:4, at the time of his death it was 4:1

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Inventions and Ideas• He thought that gasoline was the fuel of the

future and redesigned the gasoline engine• Believed that cars should be available and

affordable to everyone• Invented cars such as the Model T that were

simple and widely available• Came up with the assembly line method of

production, in which the vehicle was brought to the worker, instead of the other way around

• Through mass production more cars could be produced, allowing the price to be lower

• Replaced people with machines wherever possible

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Symbolism

• Henry Ford is a symbol of the beginning of urban living and mass consumerism. He brought people to the cities and through mass productions made products widely available and affordable.

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Bibliography

• Musolf, Nell. The Story of Ford. Mankato, Minnesota: Creative Education, 2009. Print.

• Mackwood, Gae. Made in the USA. Edmonton, Alberta: Reidmore Inc, 1990. Print.

• Wright, Ed. A Left-Handed History of the World. Miller's Point, Australia: Murdoch, 2007. Print.

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Fantastic!