Ford biography briefly. Brief biography of Henry Ford. Marriage of the future owner of automobile factories

Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 - April 7, 1947) - American engineer, industrialist, and inventor. One of the founders of the US automobile industry, founder of the Ford Motor Company, organizer of conveyor production.

Henry Ford was born on July 30, 1863 in the family of a Michigan farmer, an emigrant from Ireland. His father was dissatisfied with him, considering him lazy and a sissy; his son behaved like a prince who accidentally found himself on a farm. Henry did everything he was told to do reluctantly. He hated chickens and cows and couldn't stand milk. “Already in my early youth I thought that many things could be done differently - in some other way.” For example, he, Henry, has to climb steep stairs every morning, carrying buckets of water. Why do this every day if you can just lay two meters of water pipes underground?

When his son turned twelve, his father gave him a pocket watch. He could not resist - he pryed off the lid with a screwdriver, and something wonderful was revealed to his eyes. The parts of the mechanism interacted with each other, one wheel moved another, every cog was important here. Having disassembled and reassembled the watch, the boy thought for a long time. What is the world if not one big mechanism? One movement is generated by another, everything has its own levers. To achieve success, you just need to know which levers to press. Henry quickly learned how to repair watches and for a while even worked part-time, touring surrounding farms and repairing broken chronometers. The second shock was the meeting with the locomobile. Henry and his father were returning on a cart from the city when they met a huge, shrouded in steam self-propelled vehicle. Having overtaken the cart and frightened the horses, the smoking and hissing monster rushed past. At that moment, Henry would have given half his life to be there in the driver's cab.

At the age of 15, G. Ford left school and at night, on foot, without telling anyone, he went to Detroit: he would never become a farmer, as his father wanted.

At the factory where he got a job, they made horse-drawn carriages. He didn't last long here. Ford only had to touch the broken mechanism to understand what was wrong. Other workers began to envy the gifted newcomer. They did everything to survive the upstart plant, and succeeded in this - Ford was fired. Henry later got a job at the Flower Brothers shipyard. And at night he worked part-time by repairing watches so that he could pay for the room.

Meanwhile, William Ford decided to do last try to return his son to farming: he offered 40 acres of land on the condition that he would never utter the word “car” again in his life. Unexpectedly, Henry agreed. The father was pleased, and the son too. Gullible William had no idea that his son was simply fooling him. For Henry, this incident served as a lesson: if you want to become a king, be prepared to lie.

Soon Henry Ford decided to get married. Clara Bryant was three years younger than him. They met at a village dance. Ford was a brilliant dancer and amazed the girl by showing her his pocket watch and declaring that he had made it himself. They had a lot in common - just like Henry, Clara was born into a farmer’s family and did not disdain any kind of work. The girl's parents are pious and strict people; of course, they would not give her up for marriage. young man penniless, without land and home. Having hastily built a cozy house on his property, Henry settled in it with his young wife. Many years later, the automobile monarch would say: “My wife believed in my success even more strongly than I did. She has always been like this." Clara could spend hours listening to her husband talk about the idea of ​​​​creating a self-propelled carriage. For a long time family life she always knew how to maintain an elegant balance - she was interested in her husband's affairs, but never interfered in them.
As time went. And one day, Ford Sr. found the newlyweds’ cozy house abandoned - Henry and Clara unexpectedly moved to Detroit, where Ford went to work at the Detroit Electric Company as an engineer.

In November 1893, Clara gave Ford a son. The boy was named Edsel.
That same year, in a brick barn behind the semi-detached house where he lived with his wife Clara, Ford completed construction of his first experimental car. The inventor worked for two days without rest or sleep, and at two o’clock in the morning on June 4 he came to tell his wife that the machine was ready and he was now going to test it. Called the "Quadricycle" and weighing only five hundred pounds, the vehicle ran on four bicycle tires.

And in the same 1893, Ford became the chief engineer of the Edison Company, which specialized in lighting Detroit, and then, in 1899, the chief engineer of the Detroit Automobile Company. But after a while they began to notice that Ford was spending all his mental and physical strength on a gasoline cart, and not at all on working in the office. Henry was offered a leadership position on the condition that he give up his invention. Ford hesitated. The reasoning was as follows: the family had to be supported, there were no savings - everything went towards building the cart. Clara, seeing his hesitation, said that no matter what Henry did, she would approve of his decision. After quitting, Ford began to “sell himself.” He was looking for wealthy partners, because Henry himself did not have money, as such, and in his new enterprise he assigned himself the role of a supplier of ideas. But no one wanted to buy these ideas. In the end, after Henry gave a Detroit businessman a crazy ride in his cart, he agreed to work with the inventor. The Detroit Automobile Company did not last long. “There was no demand for cars, just as there is no demand for any new product. I left my post, determined never to be in a dependent position again,” Ford recalled. And the “trade of ideas” and the search for partners began again. Refusals rained down on him like from a cornucopia; he was almost taken out of one office by force. Finally, in 1903, the Ford Motor Company was incorporated. Henry became general manager. Being a self-taught mechanic himself, Ford willingly hired such geniuses at the plant: “The specialists are so smart and experienced that they know exactly why this and that cannot be done, they see limits and obstacles everywhere. If I wanted to destroy competitors, I would provide them with hordes of specialists.”
The automobile king never learned to read blueprints in his entire life: the engineers simply did it for the boss wooden mockup and handed him over for trial.

In 1905, Ford's financial partners did not agree with his intention to produce cheap cars, because... were in demand expensive models, the majority shareholder Alexander Malcolmson sold his share to Ford, after which Henry Ford became the owner of a controlling stake and president of the company (he was president of the company in 1905 - 1919 and in 1943 - 1945).

Ford's real triumph was the introduction of the Model T, which meant a change in all guidelines in the concept of the automotive industry. He created it like a sculptor, cutting off everything unnecessary, creating not a luxurious toy for the elite, but an affordable product for thousands and thousands of “average Americans.” The success exceeded all expectations. Over the years of production of the Model T, over 15 million cars were sold, easily winning consumer market.

Mass production required standardization and unification of all technological processes. “Terror of the machine” is how Ford characterized the control system he introduced. A clear control and planning system, conveyor production, continuous technological chains - all this contributed to the fact that the Ford empire worked in automatic mode.

Ford was the first to establish a minimum level at its enterprises wages and an 8-hour workday. However, going towards improvement social status workers, Ford preferred to do this solely on his own initiative. Therefore, in the future he stubbornly ignored the pressure of trade unions, which ultimately led to a protracted conflict with them in 1937-1941. A sociological service with a staff of 60 people was created at his factories, which at that time was a major innovation.

Ford was literally obsessed with dieting and healthy way life, was interested in the history of American culture, and was no stranger to philanthropy. However, his social activity- active anti-Jewish activities, a peace cruise during the First World War, an attempt to become a senator - was predominantly scandalous.

Believing in his own genius, Ford began to lose his flexibility and flair as an innovator. In the 1930s, there were major changes in consumer demand, and Ford, committed to his previous concept, did not take them into account. As a result, the leading position in the automotive industry had to be ceded to another large company- General Motors.

In September 1945, Ford handed over management of the company (previously formally owned by his only son Edsel) to his grandson and namesake Henry Ford 2 and retired. 2 years later, on April 7, 1947, at the age of 83, Ford died.

Henry Ford - amazing story. short biography, quotes, outlook on life.

Henry Ford: Brief Biography

Inventor, major industrialist, ideological inspirer and the creator of the Ford Motor Company - this is how the poor guy from Detroit will be remembered. Henry Ford was born on July 30, 1863. in a family of Irish descent in the suburbs of Detroit, the village of Sprigfield. WITH younger age Helped his father and mother with housework, being the eldest of 6 children in the family. Received his first education in rural school. At the age of 12, he got a job as an apprentice in a workshop to keep his hands busy free time. During this period, the first engineering and design inclinations of the future entrepreneur appeared - he built a steam engine.

At age 16, in 1876, he moved to Detroit in search of work.. Henry Ford managed to get a job as a mechanical engineer under the supervision of the chief machinist at the Edison Electric Company. Tireless work led Henry Ford in 1887 to a convention in Atlantic City, where personal meeting with Thomas Edison, with whom I shared my ideas. Henry Ford voiced his ideas about internal combustion engines, expecting that Edison would only laugh at the young dreamer, but the scientist replied: “Continue to work on your idea and you will achieve the goal you set. I predict a great future for you."

After such a powerful incentive, Henry Ford continued to work at the plant, soon receiving the position of manager, and in 1893 became chief engineer. Now he was in control of the entire work cycle and, although in 1899 after his dismissal from the company and an unsuccessful start - Henry Ford's business went bankrupt– the inventor had a clear idea of ​​his future work.

1903 - time of birth "Ford Motor". With the light hand of the author and 12 Michigan businessmen, an enterprise was opened led by Henry Ford, vice president of the company and Alexander Malcolms, the main investor. In 1905, he became the sole owner due to differences of opinion with his partners, who did not want to invest in the development of cheap car models.

In 1913, the assembly line production of the first car models was opened., which turned not only the life of one person upside down, but also marked a new world era. Henry Ford's main work, My Life, My Achievements, became the source of philosophical research and a new political economic movement - Fordism.

After many years of cooperation with the Soviet Bureau in New York, he concluded a deal to sell Fordson. In 1919 son Henry Ford Edsel Brian Ford, bought out some of the shares of other shareholders, after which the company became a family affair. Son Henry died in 1943 Ford, after which the company remained in the care of his father, and in September 1945 he transferred it to his grandson, Henry Ford II. The famous entrepreneur died on April 7, 1947 in his own home in Dearborn.

Merits and memory:

• The book “My Life, My Work” (1922);
• “Tomorrow and Today” (1926);
• "Moving Forward" (1931);
• Ford Foundation - together with his son;
• Lifetime Achievement Award for Automotive Industry (May 1946);
• Gold Medal for Public Service from the American Petroleum Institute;

Henry Ford Quotes:

• “Everything can be done better than it has been done so far”
• “No task will seem impossible if you break it down into small parts”
• "The only moment when business man can borrow money with some confidence - this is when he does not need it"

“Think that you are capable of this or that accomplishment, or think that you are not capable - in any case you will be right”

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Henry Ford is one of the founders of the US automobile industry. The automobile king never learned to read blueprints in his entire life: the engineers simply made a wooden model for the boss and gave it to him for judgment.

Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 - April 7, 1947) - American engineer, industrialist, and inventor. One of the founders of the US automobile industry, founder of the Ford Motor Company, organizer of conveyor production.

Henry became general manager. Being a self-taught mechanic himself, Ford willingly hired such geniuses at the plant: “The specialists are so smart and experienced that they know exactly why this and that cannot be done, they see limits and obstacles everywhere. If I wanted to destroy competitors, I would provide them with hordes of specialists.”

The automobile king never learned to read blueprints in his entire life: the engineers simply made a wooden model for the boss and gave it to him for judgment.

In 1905, Ford's financial partners did not agree with his intention to produce cheap cars, because... Expensive models were in demand, the holder of the majority stake, Alexander Malcolmson, sold his share to Ford, after which Henry Ford became the owner of a controlling stake and president of the company (he was president of the company in 1905 - 1919 and in 1943 - 1945).

Ford-triumph

Henry Ford's Management Principles

• Don't be afraid of the future and don't be respectful of the past. He who is afraid of the future (failures) limits the range of his activities. Failures only give you a reason to start again and smarter. Honest failure is not shameful: fear of failure is shameful. The past is useful only in the sense that it shows us the ways and means to development.
• Ignore the competition. Let the one who does the job better work. An attempt to upset someone’s affairs is a crime, because it means an attempt to upset the life of another person in pursuit of profit and to establish the rule of force in place of common sense.
• Work for common benefit put benefits above. Without profit, no business can survive. There is nothing inherently wrong with profit. A well-run enterprise, while bringing great benefits, should and will bring great income. But the profitability should be in the end useful work, and not lie at its base.
• Producing does not mean buying cheap and selling high. It rather means buying raw materials at reasonable prices and converting them, at as little additional cost as possible, into a good product, which is then distributed to consumers. Gambling, speculating and acting dishonestly only means complicating this process.

Henry Ford's book: "My Life, My Achievements"

Henry Ford, download book: My Life, My Achievements (PDF)

Henry Ford in simple words teaches Everyday life. In the same simple words he explains the most complex relations of production. The book is replete with examples. These examples are invaluable experience models that are invented, implemented and work.

The simplicity of the analysis of industrial, social, economic and financial relations clearly proves the vital importance of Ford's basic ideas:

• My goal is simplicity.
• The economic principle is labor.
• A moral principle is a person’s right to his work.
• The well-being of the producer ultimately also depends on the benefits he brings to the people.

American engineer, inventor, industrialist Henry Ford was born in July 1863. He became the pride of the United States, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, the organizer of production and the designer of the conveyor complex.

Henry Ford's car was created as a work of art, there is nothing superfluous in it, its beauty is practical and functional. And this is not a luxury toy. This is a convenient, affordable gift that Henry Ford gave to the average American family. The biography of this inventor and designer is a worthy example for every person.

Merits

Henry Ford, whose biography acquires more and more fantastic details over time, is famous for the fact that he managed to create a flow in production. AND car business- also his idea, brought to life by him. And most importantly - management. Economically organized businesses need managers, and the twentieth century gave the world the creative businessman. The best businessman of the century, according to Fortune magazine!

They built the most large production of those existing at that time, the real industry from which Ford earned his first billion (today this money is “worth” thirty-six billion). The principles of its management still have a huge impact on the entire structure of US society. Ford managed to sell fifteen and a half million Ford Ts, and the production conveyor necessary for production became more familiar than a bicycle on the street.

Opponent and Creator of Management

If Henry Ford had not been an opponent of management principles, his biography would not have been supplemented with the title of the best businessman. He had his own principles: he paid workers twice as much as other employers, and sold them cars at significant discounts. Thus he created a class still called "blue collar". He did not increase the demand for his products. No! He created the conditions for such demand.

This was very inconsistent with the principles of the current production policy. was created and formulated in an absentee dispute between Ford and theorists who could not defeat the famous automaker until a practical manager from General Motors appeared who completely defeated Henry Ford in a face-to-face dispute. So successful Ford, whose biography is worthy of a screenwriter's pen Hollywood movie, as an entrepreneur, failed in 1927.

Only the product is important

By this time, Henry could no longer change his beliefs. He truly became a star, that is, he was absolutely confident that he was right. And new times came, the change of which he did not even notice. Successful production now required management, and a new quality of management; Henry Ford was unable to understand this in time. His quotes on this subject are remarkable: “Gymnastics is nonsense. Healthy people it is of no use, and is contraindicated for sick people." He had the same attitude towards management.

Ford was confident that if the product was good, it would certainly make a profit, and if it was bad, then the most wonderful management would not bring results. Ford despised the art of management, ran around the workshops, looked into the office only occasionally, financial documents seemed nauseating to him, he hated bankers, accepted only cash. For him, financiers were thieves, speculators, saboteurs and robbers, and shareholders were parasites. And Henry spoke so skillfully on this topic! To this day, grateful management uses them as an example of the loss of flair in business. In any case, even if he was not right, he was extremely honest with consumers.

Honest product

Henry Ford's statements on this matter are relevant for all times: “Only work creates value!” - he never tired of repeating. And so it was. Mass production at the plant did not begin until the model reached an ideal, absolutely universal, in Ford's opinion, state. Then everything is adjusted and the car is put into production. Managers look after the overall output, Ford looks after them, so that the departments work with each other in harmony, and then the profit itself flows freely to the enterprise.

The head of the enterprise decided all the most important issues himself. Henry Ford's theory was that the value of market strategy lies in its "penetration costs." Every year, production volume increases, costs are constantly reduced, car prices are regularly reduced - this is how a stable increase in profits is created, since demand also grows. Profits are necessarily returned to production. While Henry Ford's principles worked for commercial success, he was an individualistic entrepreneur - he did not pay shareholders at all.

Core values

Here she is, American dream: born like Henry Ford into a poor farming family, become rich and famous. Compatriots may forget who their president is today, but Henry Ford's car will always be remembered. Ford served an idea, a single one, all his life, suffered absolute defeats, endured widespread ridicule, and struggled with sophisticated intrigues. But he achieved his goal: he created a car and earned billions.

Henry Ford's wife, Clara, was also alone for the rest of her life. She believed him unquestioningly and supported him selflessly in difficult moments. He was once asked how he would live his life if given a second opportunity. Henry Ford's statements were always worthy of memorization: "I would agree, but on one condition: I would marry Clara again."

Start

In fact, Henry's life did not start out so easy. He was born on a farm in Michigan, where from an early age he was forced to help his father work in the fields. He sincerely hated this activity. He was attracted only by mechanisms. And the steam locomotive he saw at the age of twelve shook the boy’s soul to the very bottom. Thus began the story of Henry Ford.

Every day until late in the evening, Henry struggled with the construction of a moving mechanism. He stopped looking like an ordinary boy: his pockets are full of nuts, instead of toys there are tools. His parents gave him the first watch in his life, which he took apart on the same day and reassembled as it was. From the age of fifteen he ran around the neighboring farms and repaired all sorts of mechanisms for everyone, and thus he did not finish school. Subsequently, Henry Ford's statements on this matter did not change his ideological outlook. He said that books do not teach anything practical, and for a technician the most important thing is the mechanism from which he, like a writer from books, will draw all the ideas and be able to apply them.

Steam locomobiles

Henry knew no rest in his work: he completely broke away from his farming roots, worked in a mechanical workshop, and at night he repaired watches, working part-time for a jeweler. Since he already had an idea, and only a self-propelled carriage captivated all his dreams, at the age of sixteen he got a job at the Westinghouse Company as an expert in the assembly and repair of locomotives. These multi-ton monsters of automobile manufacturing did 12 miles per hour and were most often used as a tractor. Locomotives were so expensive that not every farmer could purchase such a car.

Henry Ford's first company, although not his brainchild, gave him the opportunity to grow in his profession, acquire ideas and try to implement them. The first attempt was to create a lightweight steam cart for plowing. Henry remembered his father, that his purely paternal dream of a son-assistant had collapsed, and his conscience, of course, worried him. That’s why he wanted to quickly alleviate the harsh lot of farmers, to shift the main labor from his father’s shoulders to the iron horse.

New engine design

A tractor is not a mass product. People want a car that can be driven on the road, not a tool for field work. However, the cart assembled by Henry was dangerous: it is more convenient to sit on a bomb than on a boiler under high pressure. Young Ford studied boilers of all designs and realized that they were not the future, that a light crew with a steam engine was impossible. Hearing about gas engines, Ford was filled with new hopes.

Smart people listened to him with interest, but they absolutely did not believe in Henry Ford’s success in this matter. He did not meet a single educated person he knew who would understand that the internal combustion engine is the future of humanity. From that moment on, he neglected all the advice of the “wise men”. This engine was designed by Henry Ford in 1887. To do this, he had to disassemble Philippe Lebon's gas engine and understand what was what, then return to the farm to experiment there.

Engineer and mechanic

The father was delighted to see his son return and gave him a plot of forest so that he would just stop poking around with the pieces of iron. Henry Ford, slightly slyly, agreed, built a house, a sawmill, a workshop and married Clara. Naturally, I spent all my free time in the workshop, reading books on mechanics, and designing.

Since it was impossible to get ahead on the farm alone, he moved to Detroit, where he was offered a $45 salary with an electric company. Clara always supported her husband in all his endeavors.

He did not find any sympathy from his new colleagues regarding his tossing, since they were sure that electricity was absolutely the entire future of the planet, but the “father of electricity” himself was interested, treated with understanding and wished him good luck. Henry Ford was incredibly inspired.

America's first driver

When in 1893 Henry Ford rode around Detroit on his internal combustion engine, which he called an ATV, the horses shied away, passers-by were surprised by the loud rumble, surrounded him, and asked questions. There were no traffic rules yet, so we had to get permission from the police. So he became the first officially approved driver in America.

After driving for three years, Henry sold the first brainchild for two hundred dollars and used it to create a new model of a lighter car. For some reason, he then believed that heavy cars were not needed. Oh, if he now looked at the brainchild of his company - the Ford Expedition, then he would definitely change his mind. However, at that time he believed that the mass product was easy and accessible.

By that time, he had been made the first engineer at the electric company and was paid $125 a month, but his experience in the automotive industry aroused indignation among management. It believed only in electricity. On gas - no. The company offered Henry Ford an even higher position, but just let him give up this nonsense and get down to real business. Ford thought and chose his dream.

Racing car

Companions were quickly found who invested money in the newly created Detroit Automobile Company to produce racing cars. idea mass production Henry Ford couldn't resist. The partners needed money; they simply did not see any other use for the car. Is it true, big money this enterprise did not bring any benefit to anyone. In 1902, he left the company so as never to be in a dependent position again. "All by myself!" - Henry Ford said to himself. Achievements were on the way.

Ford never considered speed to be an advantage of a car, but since public attention could only be attracted by victory, he still had to prepare two cars designed to go fast. “It is impossible to give a more unreliable guarantee!” he said to himself, “You can fall from Niagara Falls with a large percentage of luck.”

But the cars were ready to race. The only thing missing was the driver. A thrill-seeking cyclist named Oldfield agreed to ride the breeze. But he never sat behind the wheel of a car. There was a week left before the race. The cyclist did not disappoint. Moreover, he never looked around, did not turn around and did not slow down on turns: just as he “slammed” the pedal to the metal at the start, he did not slow down until the finish. The Ford car arrived first. Investors became interested, and a week later the company was founded, Ford's main brainchild - Ford Motor.

A car for everyone

Henry Ford organized his own enterprise according to his own plan. The priority was a product that was reliable, easy to use, cheap, lightweight, and mass-produced. Ford did not want to work for the rich, but wanted to make all his compatriots happy. No luxury, the simplest and most functional decoration. And the prestige of the brand didn’t matter either. Even beautiful names his models did not, he named each new one with the next letter of the alphabet.

Ford followed three basic financial principles: he did not take other people's capital, he bought everything exclusively for cash, and all profits necessarily went into production. Dividends are awarded only to those who participate in the creation of the product. Ford directed all his thoughts and efforts towards creating a universal car. It became a model with the letter "T". The previous ones also sold quite well, but, compared to "T", they seemed simply experimental. Now an advertisement could quite rightly say: “Every child can drive a Ford!”

Perfect Creation

In 1909, Henry Ford announced that he would now only produce the Model T with the same chassis. And, as always, he made this statement witty: - “Everyone can buy a Ford-T in absolutely any color, but on the condition that any color is black.”

To understand the scale of the event that the head of the company started, and started with absolute faith in success, you need to imagine that a certain person created a company to provide each of us with cheap and comfortable airplanes. This was the attitude towards buying a car in those days.

The car had to be quite roomy so that the whole family could sit comfortably. Henry Ford was also concerned about choosing the best material. The design should be as simple as possible in today's technology, he believed. And he always had first-class workers.

Ford said that the price of the car would be so low that any working person could buy one. Here, with these very words, many stopped believing him. Can Factory! - opponents shouted to him. And the Model T was called the “Tin Lizzie.” It would seem that it makes no difference what the dogs bark about. All the same, the caravan is moving on. But to sell a lot, low prices will not help. We need to convince you of the quality.

Taking care of the buyer

At the origins of the automobile industry, selling a car was considered a profitable operation - and nothing more. Sold - forgotten. Further fate no one was interested in cars. When repairing, spare parts were prohibitively expensive, since the owner had nowhere to go - he would buy it as cute as he could. Ford sold spare parts extremely cheaply and took care of the repair of cars from its plant.

The competitors got excited. Intrigues, gossip, even patent trials began. Ford did not hesitate to print in the newspapers that every car buyer could demand a bond of twelve million dollars from Ford Motor, guaranteeing the receipt of this money in case of unpleasant accidents. And asked not to buy cars knowingly Low quality at high prices from enemies of the Ford Motor Company. And it worked! In 1927, fifteen million units left the factory gates, which had not changed in nineteen years. Just as Henry Ford did not change his principles. His biography did not end there. Before his death in 1947, he managed to do a lot: create best cars, write a few most interesting books and realize the American dream.

When it seems like the whole world is against you, remember that the plane takes off against the wind! That's what Henry Ford said. And I followed this rule all my life.

Henry Ford - inventor, founder of the Ford Motor Company automobile concern, modernizer of conveyor production. A talented and successful leader, the first to raise the minimum wage for workers, reducing the working day to eight hours and the week to five days.

On July 30, 1863, Henry's first child was born into the family of farmer William Ford. Since childhood, he showed no interest in his father's work. He saw that the effort expended on certain operations was sometimes not justified, and the introduction of mechanisms would make the work of his loved ones easier.

Henry received his education at a primary church school, but never felt remorse for writing with errors. His developed, lively mind more than compensated for this deficiency.

At the age of twelve, the boy became obsessed with the idea of ​​​​creating a self-propelled moving mechanism after he saw a locomobile “rushing” at a speed of six kilometers per hour. And although his relatives condemned his hobby, young Ford entered the workshop as an apprentice mechanic.

Returning home four years later, he does not give up his ideas and continues to work on his inventions. Already in 1887, Henry proposed to the farmer's daughter Clara Bryant, with whom he then lived happily all his life. This woman always supported and inspired the inventor, even at those moments in history when everyone else considered his ideas crazy. In 1991, Henry and Clara Ford had a son, whom they named Edsed.

Foundation of the company

The gasoline thresher was the first invention after which Ford began to be taken seriously. Thomas Edison acquires a patent from him and offers him the position of chief engineer at his enterprise. But even this prestigious position does not distract Henry from the idea of ​​​​producing a car that would be available to almost all residents of the country.

Soon the company management strongly advises young specialist stop thinking about “extraneous things.” Then Ford quit and in 1899 became one of the co-owners of the Detroit Automobile Company. However, after three years he left it, not finding support for his idea among his colleagues.

Soon Ford independently released its first Fordmobile, which did not interest anyone. But a brilliant marketing move soon saves the day. Henry gets behind the wheel of his own car and participates in nationwide races, achieving success. The first place was best advertising, and orders poured in from all sides.

In 1903, thanks to investors, famous inventor opens his own company called Ford Motor Company, with the help of which he realizes his dream and creates a public car.

In 1908, the Ford T was born, distinguished by its reliability, convenience and affordable price, amounting to only 850 dollars. Competitors are fading into the shadows, and Ford's products are firmly entrenched in leading positions.

Major innovative transformations

Henry Ford can be called a revolutionary in the changes introduced in his production. The main achievements that led to success include:

1. Conveyor production. The conveyor is not one of Ford's inventions; he only improved it and used it in assembling complex mechanisms. But this opened up enormous prospects for increasing labor productivity and made it possible to speed up the entire process of producing cars.
2. Raising the minimum wage for workers to five dollars a day. This attracted many employees to his company, who subsequently valued their jobs. Moreover, they, gradually accumulating the required amount, could purchase cars from their company.
3. Introduction of an eight-hour shift. Thanks to this innovation, the enterprise began to operate in three shifts, thereby creating new jobs.
4. Ford was the first to legalize the six-day working week, giving employees the opportunity to rest peacefully on their day off.
5. Payment of vacation pay. Previously, vacation at enterprises was not paid, and often not even provided.

Company difficulties and ways out of them

Soon Ford buys back a controlling stake from investors with
your company and becomes its full owner. In addition, it acquires mines, mines and factories for the production of materials for the production of automobiles.

But competitors are not willing to give up so easily, and in 1927 the company is on the verge of collapse. But even such severe tests were unable to break Ford’s will. In the same year, the world saw the improved Ford A model, which had dizzying success among consumers, as it was superior to competitors' analogues in terms of quality characteristics and impressive appearance.

Henry Ford died in his homeland not far from Detroit at the age of 83. He survived his death only son and left his empire to his grandson Henry Ford II. His life came a shining example of how the power of the human spirit and mind is capable of making the most fantastic and daring dreams come true, if you really believe in them with all your heart.