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

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

Henry Ford was born July 30, 1863 to a Michigan farmer, an immigrant from Ireland. The father was dissatisfied with him, considering him a lazy and sissy - the son behaved like a prince who accidentally found himself on a farm. Everything he was told, Henry did reluctantly. He hated chickens and cows and hated 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 when you can just lay two meters of water pipes underground?

When his son was twelve, his father gave him a pocket watch. He could not stand it - he pryed off the lid with a screwdriver, and something wonderful opened up to his eyes. The parts of the mechanism interacted with each other, one wheel moved the other, each screw was important here. Having disassembled and reassembled the watch, the boy thought for a long time. What is the world but one big mechanism? One movement is generated by another, everything has its leverage. To succeed, you just need to know which levers to push. Henry quickly learned how to repair clocks and even worked part-time for a while, going around the surrounding farms and taking broken chronometers for repair. The second shock was the meeting with the locomobile. Henry and his father were driving back from the city in a cart when they met a huge, steam-shrouded self-propelled car. 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 cab.

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

At the factory where he got a job, they made horse-drawn wagons. Here he did not last long. Ford only needed to touch the broken mechanism to understand what the problem was. The gifted novice became the envy of other workers. They did everything to survive the upstart from the factory, and succeeded in this - Ford was fired. Later, Henry got a job at the shipyard of the Flower brothers. And at night he worked part time repairing watches so that he could pay for the room.

Meanwhile, William Ford decided to make one last attempt to return his son to the farming business: 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, the son too. Gullible William did not even suspect that his son was simply fooling him. For Henry, this case served as a lesson: if you want to become a king, be prepared to lie.

Soon Henry Ford decided to marry. Clara Bryant was three years younger than him. They met at a village dance. Ford was a brilliant dancer and impressed the girl by showing her his pocket watch and claiming he had made it himself. They were connected by many things - just like Henry, Clara was born into a farmer's family, did not shun any work. The girl's parents are pious and strict people, of course, they would not have given her for a young man without a penny for his soul, without land and a house. Having hastily built a cozy house on his site, Henry settled in it with his young wife. Many years later, the automotive monarch will say: “My wife believed in my success even stronger than I did. That's how she's always been." Clara could spend hours listening to her husband's reasoning about the idea of ​​creating a self-propelled carriage. Throughout her long 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 cozy house of the newlyweds abandoned - Henry and Clara unexpectedly moved to Detroit, where Ford went to work as an engineer at the Detroit Electric Company.

In November 1893, Clara gave Ford a son. The boy was named Edsel.
In the same year, in a brick shed behind the semi-detached house where he lived with his wife Clara, Ford finished building his first experimental car. The inventor worked for two days without rest and sleep, and at two in the morning on June 4 he came to inform his wife that the car was ready and he was now going to test it. Called the "Quad" and weighing only five hundred pounds, the car 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 office work. Henry was offered a leadership position on the condition that he give up his invention. Ford hesitated. The arguments of reason were as follows: the family must be supported, there are no savings - everything went to the construction of 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. Eventually, after giving a Detroit businessman a ride at breakneck speed, Henry agreed to work with the inventor. The Detroit Automotive 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 dependent again,” Ford recalled. And the "trading of ideas" began again, the search for partners. 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 the same nuggets at the factory: “Specialists are so smart and experienced that they know exactly why it is impossible to do this and that, 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 main shareholder Alexander Malcolmson sold his share to Ford, after which Henry Ford became the owner of a controlling stake and the president of the company (he was president of the company in 1905 - 1919 and in 1943 - 1945).

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

Mass production required the standardization and unification of all technological processes. "The terror of the machine" - this 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 wage and an 8-hour workday in his factories. However, going to improve the social situation of workers, Ford preferred to do this solely on his own initiative. Therefore, in the future, he stubbornly ignored the pressure of the trade unions, which eventually led to a protracted conflict with them in 1937-1941. At its factories, a sociological service was created with a staff of 60 people, which at that time was a major innovation.

Ford was literally obsessed with diet and a healthy lifestyle, was fond of the history of American culture, and was not alien to philanthropy. However, his public activities - active anti-Jewish interventions, a peace cruise during the First World War, an attempt to become a senator - were mostly scandalous.

Believing in his own genius, Ford began to lose flexibility and innovator's flair. In the 30s, there were serious changes in consumer demand, and Ford, devoted to his previous concept, did not take them into account. As a result, the leading positions in the automotive industry had to be ceded to another large company - General Motors.

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

Henry Ford is an amazing story. Brief biography, quotes, outlook on life.

Henry Ford: a short biography

An inventor, a major industrialist, an ideological inspirer and creator of the Ford Motor Company - this is how a poor guy from Detroit will be remembered. Henry Ford was born July 30, 1863 in the family of an Irish native in the vicinity of Detroit, the village of Springfield. From a young age, he helped his father and mother with housework, being the eldest of 6 children in the family. He received his first education in a rural school. At the age of 12, he got a job as an apprentice in a workshop to occupy his hands in his spare time. During this period, the first engineering and design inclinations of the future entrepreneur appeared - he made a steam engine.

At the age of 16, in 1876, he moved to Detroit in search of work.. Henry Ford managed to get a job as a mechanical engineer under the hand of the chief machinist at the Edison Electric Company. Indefatigable work led Henry Ford in 1887 to a convention in Atlantic City, where personal meeting with Thomas Edison with whom he shared his ideas. Henry Ford voiced ideas about internal combustion engines, expecting that Edison would only laugh at the young dreamer, but the scientist replied: “Keep working 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 continues to work at the plant, soon receiving a managerial position, and in 1893 to become chief engineer. Now he was subject to the entire cycle of work and, although in 1899 after his dismissal from the company and an unsuccessful start - Henry Ford case went bankrupt– the inventor had a clear idea of ​​his future work.

1903 - the time of birth "Ford Motor. With the light hand of the author and 12 Michigan businessmen, an enterprise was opened headed 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, but also marked a new world era. The main work of Henry Ford "My Life, My Achievements" became the source of philosophical research and a new political economy trend - Fordism.

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

Merit and memory:

• The book "My life, my work" (1922);
• "Tomorrow and Today" (1926);
• "Moving Forward" (1931);
• Ford Foundation - jointly with his son;
• Automotive Industry Achievement Award (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”
• “Nothing seems impossible if you break it into small parts”
• "The only time a business person can borrow money with any certainty is when he doesn't 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 American 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) was an American engineer, industrialist, and inventor. One of the founders of the US automotive industry, founder of the Ford Motor Company, organizer of the conveyor production line.

Henry became General Manager. Being a self-taught mechanic himself, Ford willingly hired the same nuggets at the factory: “Specialists are so smart and experienced that they know exactly why it is impossible to do this and that, 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 main shareholder Alexander Malcolmson sold his share to Ford, after which Henry Ford became the owner of a controlling stake and the president of the company (he was president of the company in 1905 - 1919 and in 1943 - 1945).

Ford Triumph

Henry Ford's management principles

• Do not be afraid of the future and do not respect the past. Whoever is afraid of the future (failures), he himself limits the circle of his activities. Failure only gives you an excuse to start again and smarter. Honest failure is not shameful: the fear of failure is shameful. The past is useful only in the sense that it shows us the ways and means to development.
• Pay no attention to the competition. Let the one who does the job best do the work. An attempt to upset someone's affairs is a crime, because it means an attempt to upset the life of another person in the pursuit of profit and establish the rule of force instead of common sense.
• Put work for the common good above profit. No business can survive without profit. In essence, there is nothing wrong with profit. A well-established enterprise, while bringing great benefits, should and will bring a large income. But profitability should result from useful work, and not lie at its basis.
• Producing does not mean buying cheap and selling expensive. Rather, it means buying raw materials at similar prices and converting them, at as little extra cost as possible, into a good product, which is then distributed to the consumers. To gamble, to speculate and to act dishonestly means only to complicate the specified process.

Henry Ford book: "My life, my achievements"

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

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

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

• My goal is simplicity.
• The economic principle is work.
• The moral principle is the right of a person to his work.
• The well-being of the manufacturer depends, in the final analysis, also on the benefits that 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 flow-conveyor complex.

Henry Ford's car was created as a work of art, there is nothing superfluous in it, its beauty is expedient and functional. And it's 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 is famous, whose biography over time acquires more and more fantastic details, because he managed to create a flow in production. And the automobile business is also his idea, brought to life by him. And most importantly - management. Economically organized businesses need managers, and the twentieth century has given the world the creative businessman. The best businessman of the century, according to Fortune magazine!

He built the largest production that existed at that time, a real industry, on which Ford earned his first billion (today this money is "worth" thirty-six billion). The principles of his 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 flow conveyor needed 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 replenished with the title of the best businessman. He had his own principles: he paid workers twice as much as other employers, he sold cars to them at significant discounts. Thus he created the class still called "blue collar". He did not raise demand for his products. Not! He created the conditions for such demand.

This did not coincide with the principles of the current production policy. was created and formulated in a correspondence dispute between Ford and theorists who could not defeat the noble automaker until a practical manager from General Motors appeared who utterly defeated Henry Ford in a face-to-face dispute. So successful Ford, whose biography is worthy of the pen of a Hollywood film screenwriter, as an entrepreneur, failed in 1927.

Only the product matters

By this time, Henry could no longer change his beliefs. He really "starred", that is, he was absolutely sure of his own rightness. And new times have come, the change of which he did not notice. Successful production now required management, and a new quality of management, which Henry Ford could not understand in time. His quotes on this subject are wonderful: "Gymnastics is nonsense. Healthy people do not need it, but sick people are contraindicated." He did the same with management.

Ford was sure that if the product is good, then it will certainly bring profit, and if it is bad, then the most wonderful management will not bring results. Ford despised the art of management, ran around the shops, looked into the office only occasionally, financial documents seemed to him nauseating, he hated bankers, recognized only cash. The financiers were for him thieves, speculators, pests and robbers, and the shareholders were parasites. And so talentedly Henry scattered on this topic! To this day, appreciative management uses them as an example of losing business sense. In any case, if he was not right, then he was extremely honest with consumers.

honest product

The words of Henry Ford on this subject are relevant for all time: "Only work creates value!" - he did not get tired of repeating. And so it was. Mass production at the factory did not begin until the model reached the ideal, absolutely universal, in Ford's opinion, condition. Then it gets better and the car is put on stream. Managers look after the overall output, Ford looks after them so that the departments work together in harmony, and then profits naturally flow 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 "penetration prices." Every year the volume of production increases, costs are constantly decreasing, car prices are regularly reduced - this is how a stable increase in profits is created, since demand also grows. Profit is 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 it is, the American dream: to be born, like Henry Ford, in a poor farming family, to get rich and famous. Compatriots may forget who their president is today, but Henry Ford's car will always be remembered. Ford served the idea, the one and only, and all his life, suffered absolute defeats, endured widespread ridicule, 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 life. She believed him unquestioningly, supported him selflessly in difficult moments. He was once asked how he would live his life if given a second opportunity. The words of Henry Ford have always been worthy of memorization: "I would agree, but on one condition: I will 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 field. He truly hated this job. He was attracted only by the mechanisms. And the steam locomobile 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 at night, Henry struggled with the construction of a moving mechanism. He ceased to look like an ordinary boy: his pockets are full of nuts, instead of toys - tools. Parents gave him the first watch in his life, which he dismantled on the same day and assembled as it was. From the age of fifteen he ran around the neighboring farms and repaired any mechanisms for everyone, and thus he did not finish school. subsequently, the statements of Henry Ford on this subject did not change their worldview. He said that books do not teach anything practical, and for a technician, the most important mechanism is from which, as a writer from books, he will draw all the ideas and be able to apply them.

Steam locomobiles

Henry did not know how to rest in his work: he completely broke away from farming roots, worked in a mechanical workshop, and repaired watches at night, moonlighting at a jeweler. Since he already had the idea, and only a self-propelled carriage carried away all his dreams, at the age of sixteen he got a job at the Westinghouse Company as an expert in assembling and repairing locomobiles. These multi-ton monsters of the automotive industry did 12 miles per hour and were most often used as a tractor. Locomobiles were so expensive that not every farmer could buy such a car.

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

New design engine

The tractor is not a mass product. People want a car that can be driven on the roads, not a tool for field work. However, the trolley assembled by Henry was dangerous: it is more convenient to sit on a bomb than on a high-pressure boiler. 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 the success of Henry Ford in this matter. He did not meet a single acquaintance of educated people who would understand that the future of mankind lies in the internal combustion engine. 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 the Philippe Lebon gas engine and understand what was what, then return to the farm to experiment there.

Engineer and mechanic

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

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

He did not find sympathy with his new colleagues about his throwing, because they were sure that electricity was absolutely the whole future of the planet, but the "father of electricity" himself became interested, treated with understanding and wished him good luck. Henry Ford was inspired beyond words.

America's first driver

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

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

By that time, the electric company had made him the first engineer, paid $ 125 a month, but the experiments in the automotive industry aroused indignation among the management. It believed only in electricity. In gas, no. The company offered Henry Ford an even higher post, but just let him drop this nonsense and do the real thing. Ford thought and chose his dream.

Racing car

Partners were quickly found who invested in the newly created Detroit Automobile Company to produce racing cars. Henry Ford could not defend the idea of ​​mass production. The companions needed money, they simply did not see another use for the car. True, this enterprise did not bring much money to anyone. In 1902, he left the company, never to be dependent again. "All by myself!" Henry Ford said to himself. Achievements were on the way.

Ford never put speed in the dignity of a car, but since public attention could only be attracted by victory, he still had to prepare two cars designed for high speed. "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. Only the driver was missing. A cyclist named Oldfield, looking for thrills, agreed to ride with 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 the turns: as he “stoked” the pedal all the way at the start, he did not slow down until the finish line. Ford's car came first. Investors became interested, about a week later the company was founded, the main brainchild of Ford - Ford Motor.

Car for everyone

Henry Ford organized his own enterprise according to his own plan. The priority was a reliable, easy-to-manage, cheap, light, mass-produced product. Ford did not want to work for the rich, but he wanted to make all his countrymen happy. No luxury, the simplest and most functional finish. And the prestige of the brand also did not matter. Even his models did not have beautiful names, he called each new one by the next letter of the alphabet.

Ford observed 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 rely only on those who participate in the creation of the product. All thoughts, all efforts Ford directed to the creation of a universal car. She became a model with the letter "T". The previous ones also sold quite well, but compared to the "T", they seemed just experimental. Now advertising could quite rightly say: "Every child will be able to 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: - "Every person can buy a Ford-T in absolutely any color, but on the condition that any color is black."

To understand what scale the event was started by the head of the company, and he started it 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 aircraft. Such was the attitude to buying a car in those days.

The car had to be quite roomy so that the whole family could comfortably settle down. Henry Ford was also concerned about the choice of material, which should be the best. 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 it. Here, on these very words, many stopped believing him. Can Factory! shouted his opponents. And the Model "T" was called "Lizzy's Tin". It would seem, what difference does it make what the dogs bark about. Anyway, the caravan is moving on. But in order to sell a lot, low prices will not help. You need to be convinced of the quality.

Buyer care

At the origins of the automotive industry, selling a car was considered a profitable operation - and nothing more. Sold - forgotten. The further fate of the car was of no interest to anyone. When repairing, spare parts were prohibitively expensive, since the owner has nowhere to go - he will buy like a pretty one. Ford sold spare parts extremely cheaply and took care of repairing the cars of his factory.

Competitors got excited. Intrigues, gossip, even patent lawsuits began. Ford did not hesitate to print in the newspapers that every car buyer could demand a twelve million dollar bond from Ford Motor, guaranteeing the receipt of this money in the event of unpleasant accidents. And he asked not to buy cars of deliberately low quality at high prices from the enemies of the Ford Motor Company. And it worked! In 1927, the fifteen millionth left the factory gates, which has 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 the best cars, write some interesting books and make the American dream come true.

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

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 forces expended on the performance of certain operations sometimes did not justify themselves, and the introduction of mechanisms would facilitate the work of his loved ones.

Henry was educated in an elementary church school, but never felt remorse for writing with errors. His developed lively mind more than compensated for this shortcoming.

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 proposes to the farmer's daughter Clara Bryant, with whom he then lived happily all his life. This woman has 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 have a son, whom they named Edsed.

Foundation of the company

The gasoline threshing machine was the first invention after which Ford was taken seriously. Thomas Edison acquires a patent from him and offers the position of chief engineer in his company. But even this prestigious position does not distract Henry from the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bproducing a car that would be available to almost all residents of the country.

Soon, the company's management strongly advises the young specialist to stop thinking about "extraneous things." Then Ford quits and in 1899 becomes one of the co-owners of the Detroit Automobile Company. However, after three years he leaves it, not finding support for his idea from colleagues.

Soon, Ford independently produces its first Fordmobile, which no one was interested in. But a brilliant marketing ploy soon saves the day. Henry himself gets behind the wheel of his car and participates in nationwide races, achieving success. The first place became the best advertising, and orders poured in from all sides.

In 1903, thanks to investors, the 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 reliability, convenience and an affordable price of only $850. Competitors go into the shadows, and Ford products are securely fixed in leading positions.

Major innovation transformations

Henry Ford can be called a revolutionary in the transformations 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 and applied it when assembling complex mechanisms. But this opened up huge prospects for increasing labor productivity and made it possible to speed up the entire process of producing machines.
2. Raising the minimum wage for workers to five dollars a day. This attracted many employees to his company, who later treasured their jobs. In addition, they, having gradually accumulated the required amount, could purchase cars of their company.
3. Introduction of the eight-hour shift. Thanks to this innovation, the enterprise began to work in three shifts, thereby providing new jobs.
4. Ford was the first to legalize a six-day work week, giving employees the opportunity to relax on their day off.
5. Vacation pay. Previously, vacations at enterprises were not paid, and often they were not even provided.

The difficulties of the company and the way out of them

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

But competitors do not want to give up so easily, and in 1927 the company is on the verge of collapse. But to break the will of Ford was beyond the power of even such severe trials. In the same year, the world saw an improved Ford-A model, which was a dizzying success with consumers, as it surpassed its competitors in terms of quality and spectacular appearance.

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